The socio-economic development which followed the discovery of oil resources brought about considerable changes in the food habits and lifestyle of the Kuwaiti population. Excessive caloric intake and decreased energy expenditure due to a sedentary lifestyle have led to a rapid increase in obesity, diabetes and other non-communicable chronic diseases in the population. In this paper, we examine the prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) among Kuwaiti adults (≥20 years) using data from the first national nutrition survey conducted between July 2008 and November 2009. The prevalence of MetS was 37.7% in females and 34.2% in males by NCEP criteria, whereas the values were 40.1% in females and 41.7% in males according to IDF criteria. Prevalence of MetS increased with age and was higher in females than males. The high prevalence of the MetS in Kuwaiti adults warrants urgent public health measures to prevent morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular complications in the future.

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency (ID) of a nationally representative sample of the Kuwait population. We also determined if anemia differed by socioeconomic status or by RBC folate and vitamins A and B12 levels. The subjects who were made up of 1830 males and females between the ages of 2 months to 86 years, were divided into the following age groups (0–5, 5–11, 12–14, 15–19, 20–49, ≥50 years). Results showed that the prevalence of anemia was 3% in adult males and 17% in females. The prevalence of ID varied according to age between 4% (≥50 years) and 21% (5–11 years) and 9% (12–14 years) and 23% (15–19 years), respectively, in males and females. The prevalence of anemia and ID was higher in females compared to males. Adults with normal ferritin level, but with low RBC folate and vitamins A and B12 levels had higher prevalence of anemia than those with normal RBC folate and vitamins A and B12 levels. This first nationally representative nutrition and health survey in Kuwait indicated that anemia and ID are prevalent and ID contributes significantly to anemia prevalence.

Objective: Abdominal obesity is a major risk factor for chronic diseases. Yet there are no waist circumference (WC) cut-offs for children in the Arabian Gulf. We developed smoothed WC percentiles for 5-19-year-old Kuwaiti children and adolescents, which could be used in clinical and public health practice. We also examined the percentages of children who had WC $ 90th percentile, a value commonly associated with an elevated risk of CVD. Design: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted by the Kuwait National Nutrition Surveillance System. Setting: Data were collected from representative primary-, intermediate-and secondary-school children as part of the yearly nutrition and health monitoring. Least mean square regression was used to develop smoothed WC curves. Subjects: A total of 9593 healthy 5?0-18?9-year-old children of both sexes were studied from all areas of Kuwait. Age, gender, residency, education level, weight, height and WC were collected for all participants. Results: We developed the first smoothed WC curves for Kuwaiti children. Male children had higher WC than female children. WC increased with age in both genders, but larger percentages of male children had WC $ 90th percentile. Male children aged .10 years have higher WC percentiles than do female children at the 50th, 75th, 90th and 97th percentiles. Conclusions: Male children (especially those aged .10 years) are at higher risk than female children. Few health-care professionals routinely measure WC. WC measurement should be promoted as an important tool in paediatric primary care practice. The use of these age-and gender-specific percentiles can impact public health recommendations for Kuwaiti and other Arab children from the Gulf.

The study aimed to assess the adherence of Kuwaiti adults to dietary guidelines for daily fruit and vegetable intake. Data were compiled from national cross-sectional studies from 2006 to 2008 including 9350 adults. Demographic data, frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and anthropometric and lifestyle indicators were collected. Approximately 11% of people reported consuming 5 or more fruits and vegetables daily with a mean consumption of 3.04 times per day. Consumption increased with age and body mass index but decreased with smoking and non-exercising. Minimal change in compliance with 5-per-day fruit and vegetable consumption was observed between 2006 and 2008. However, the average daily consumption of total vegetables and green salads decreased and of total fruits, fruit juices and cooked and fried potatoes increased. The low frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption among Kuwaiti adults indicates the need to adopt more healthy eating patterns to control chronic diseases.

Prevalence of obesity and chronic diseases are on the rise among Kuwaiti adults. Kuwait National Nutrition Surveillance data (2006‐2007) were analyzed to compare selected dietary indicators between 6235 subjects, age < 20 years, 20‐49 years and >50 years. The indicators selected were frequency of consumption of fried potato, fresh fruits, carrots, other vegetables and fruit drinks. The younger group consumed fried potatoes four times as often and around 20% more fruit drinks than those > 50 years. However the > 50 years subjects consumed carrots and fresh fruits twice as often. Other vegetables were more frequently consumed among >50 group than the youngest group. However, the oldest group has the highest body mass index, blood glucose and cholesterol levels which were not explained by the selected dietary indicators. Thus, it is important to further investigate alternative explanations to these health risks.