Healthy lifestyles: saving Oman

Being someone who has often flirted with, if not obesity, then certainly on-or-about overweight, I have an extraordinary admiration for those who are ‘challenged’ by their weight, and respond positively, doing something about it. But also spare a thought for those for whom weight is not a fashion statement, a fad, or a consequence of laziness.

More than our appearance, our weight is an issue that confronts us all, every day, in different ways, isn’t it? So called ‘skinny’ folk want to be bigger. Not much, just enough to ‘round out’ that angular look that they see every time they look in the mirror. The ‘middlins,’ those who have everything in the right places, in the right amounts, will try to convince you that they don’t, and they aren’t, and anyway... “weight is not a problem, it’s a choice.” Those of us, yes, me included, whenever we do look in the mirror and see ourselves ‘a bit over,’ don’t say much, but silently regret a low metabolism, rarely knowing what that means, but allowing us to justify the extra chocolates with a sneer at the skinnies, and an unsaid “well if you had my metabolism, you would look just like me!” We do get smug, most of us, in where we are on the ‘rickety’ scale, and come to terms with what we are, but not all!

It’s okay for us, we don’t really have an excuse, and the consequences of us turning the other cheek are, in many respects, meaningless. But what about those who are not lifestyle slaves, but who suffer under the yolk of genetics, diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, cholesterol imbalances, heart ailments, gall bladder issues, diet, environmental factors, and mental health issues? They are so often prisoners in their own bodies, with little chance of reduced sentences.

MacDonalds, donuts, and a hundred brands of Southern fried chicken are blamed for the obesity of the entire US of A. Pies and fish’n’chips get the blame in the UK. Taro cops a bad rap in the South Pacific, and coffee and soda world-wide are certainly at fault. Chocolate in Switzerland, pizza in Italy, ice cream among the Eskimos, can all be blamed, to some extent, and we, the blithely unencumbered, will often ask “Who ate all the pies?” or tell the obese and overweight to, “Get off your backsides!” But really, for tens of thousands, it’s just not that easy.

Health issues, and particularly diabetes have challenged both Omani society, and its health sector, since long before I arrived in the Sultanate of Oman during 2009, and in fact for some years I worked closely with local fundraisers and endocrinologists in promoting healthier lifestyles. Their efforts received a massive boost when the government, I recall about 2015, wheeled its resources into the ring, and alongside OmanSail, and utilised the Al Mouj Marathon as a vehicle for promoting healthy lifestyles. Their focus was on encouraging local children to get out and about, to get active, to run, walk, climb, swim, and do stuff, rather than simply watching.

The authorities wisely decided that, rather than spending on what may have appeared to be lost causes, that by changing the youth and child perspectives on health, they were investing in an environmental change that would save millions of rials, invigorate and encourage future generations of Omanis towards healthier lifestyle futures, driven organically rather than pharmaceutically. It showed foresight, initiative, and displayed compassion. Here was a government putting the health of its people first, and today, continues to do so.

It may be subtle, but there must surely be a growing awareness of the significance, and the first effects of this policy of infinite wisdom, as a nation built on oil and gas, with its future in tourism and technology, is seeing its youthful generations perform with distinction in laboratories, classrooms, offices, sports venues, beyond all previous achievements.

Maybe salvation for past generations was but a dream, but for today’s, and future generations, healthy lifestyles are not only a reality, but lifesavers.