KUWAIT: Deputy Chairman of Cancer Aware Nation (CAN) campaign Dr Khalid Al-Saleh said the campaign works on fighting obesity through several programs, including an awareness program that covers several schools. Saleh said in a press statement said obesity is considered among the most dangerous problems in the world, and the reason behind it is the standard of living and the unhealthy habits of people. He added that the World Health Organization (WHO) considers smoking and a high income level are among the factors that contribute to the rise of obesity rates in Arab countries. He said Kuwait tops the list worldwide in obesity with 42.8 percent of the total population, which means that 4 out of 10 persons are having some degree of obesity that needs treatment.

Saleh said the campaign conducted a control pilot study on an awareness program about physical activity and healthy nutrition in schools. He said two schools were chosen - the first saw the implementation of the physical and nutrition program, while the other school was followed remotely without the program, with 50 female students from both schools chosen. He said the program was applied for three months on the female students of one of the schools. The weight and BMI of each student was recorded, then the nutrition program was implemented, which confirmed the program succeeded in reducing the students' weights.

Compensation

Kuwait has approved Iraq's request to defer compensation due over the former Iraqi regime's invasion of Kuwait until 2018. A statement by Iraq's Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari said he received Kuwait's Ambassador to Iraq Ghassan Al-Zawawi, who confirmed that instructions were given on the agreement to postpone the payment until Jan 1, 2018.

Logistic city

Kuwait Ports Authority asked Kuwait Municipality to give it a license to establish a 'logistics city', allowing the authority to carry out investment and commercial activities in it. A letter by KPA Director General Sheikh Yousuf Abdullah Al-Nasser Al-Sabah to Municipality Director General Ahmad Al-Manfouhi said that based on the instructions of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad to make Kuwait an international financial and commercial center, KPA has decided to build a logistics city in its warehousing areas called Kuwait Logistic City. The letter added that this will improve Kuwait's image in this vital area, as the World Bank indicates in the logistics performance index of world countries a drop in Kuwait's ranking compared to other GCC countries, each of which has more than one logistics city.

By A Saleh