EXPERTS have debunked claims that people in Bahrain eat more than 4,000 calories on a daily basis, after a British newspaper declared that the kingdom ‘out gobbles’ even countries like the United States to top a ludicrous ‘World’s Biggest Eaters’ list.
The Daily Mail published a health report claiming that Bahraini and expatriates living in the country are the world’s highest consumers of calories on average, per person … only to debunk its very own reporting near the end of the article.
The publication linked its coverage to food supply data provided by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO), which indicated that Bahrain had a supply of 4,012 kilocalories (kcal) per capita.
Baffled Bahraini experts told the GDN that they couldn’t understand how or why the big-selling UK daily publication with millions of online followers had presented the figures in such a misleading way.
The website the statistics were taken from, OurWorldInData.org, itself put up a disclaimer that the numbers it produced only measured the supply.
“This measures the quantity that is available for consumption at the end of the supply chain. It does not account for consumer waste, so the quantity that is actually consumed may be lower than this value,” the site stated.
Bahrain Food Bank (Conserving Bounties Society) chief executive Ahmed Al Kuwaiti told the GDN that some publications mislabel data and use it to support their own dubious agendas.
“Statistics like these are general, and must be seen as relative to the population,” he explained. “Some publications take a number and use it to support whatever claims they may choose to make.
“The Conserving Bounties Society has reservations with the figure presented in the article.”
He clarified that, as a general number, it is believed Bahrainis consume about 1,800kcal on average, and that the excess in the FAO number can be partially accounted for by considering food waste.
FAO numbers indicate that the minimum calorie requirement in the country is 1,967kcal, which is a measure of the minimum amount of daily dietary energy per person to ensure they maintain a healthy weight.
“There is no way to accurately know how much food is actually consumed, because food waste is not measured directly in Bahrain – only total household waste has been measured.
“Household waste is not segregated, and that all waste, including food waste, goes in the general trash. Moreover, household waste was last measured in 2014, so even that number is outdated.”
Mr Al Kuwaiti told the GDN that there needs to be more research in the area of food consumption.
Another local expert, paediatrician and nutritionist Dr Mohamed Altahoo, also believes that more research needs to be carried out.
The physician who works at Ibn Sina Paediatric Medical Centre also told the GDN that Bahrain ‘definitely does not’ consume more calories than say the US, of even compared regionally with Kuwait, for example.
“It’s difficult to believe, and Bahrain doesn’t even top the GCC countries in total calorie consumption and obesity rate,” he added.
Not that the kingdom should rest assured simply because bad journalism had suggested an untruth.
Dr Altahoo conceded that the rate of obesity is rising in the kingdom. “Like elsewhere, parents don’t seem to have as much time to prepare healthy food at home nowadays,” he said. “People eat a lot of rice and have started ordering in fast food or eating outside a lot more – not always choosing the healthiest options.
“However, there are a growing number of food subscription services that offer ‘portioned-out food’. They’re helping people regulate their intake since the calories are specifically listed on the packaging.”
The laughably researched dailymail.com article, claimed that although America was known for its big portion sizes and even bigger obesity problem it was the leader of the fatty pact.
‘People in the US consume an average of 3,868 calories per day, the second-highest number of any country in the world,’ it stated. ‘It is eclipsed only by Bahrain, in the Middle East, where people consumed more than 4,000 calories per day on average.’
The media giant appears to have tried to clarify itself near the end of the article by stating. ‘The data was based on the total food bought per household on average for each country and does not necessarily mean calories consumed. For example, it does not account for wastage’.
The article remains online and the Daily Mail has not responded to the GDN request for an explanation or the suggestion its editor makes of an apology to its readers and the people of Bahrain.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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