Report card: Syrian Arab Republic - Global Obesity Observatory

Report cardSyrian Arab Republic

1

Contents Page

Obesity prevalence 2

Insufficient physical activity 4

Average daily frequency of carbonated soft drink consumption 7

Estimated per capita fruit intake 8

Prevalence of less than daily fruit consumption 9

Prevalence of less than daily vegetable consumption 10

Average weekly frequency of fast food consumption 11

Estimated per-capita processed meat intake 12

Estimated per capita whole grains intake 13

Mental health - depression disorders 14

Mental health - anxiety disorders 15

% Infants exclusively breastfed 0-5 months 16

Oesophageal cancer 17

Breast cancer 19

Colorectal cancer 20

Pancreatic cancer 22

Gallbladder cancer 24

Kidney cancer 26

Cancer of the uterus 28

Raised blood pressure 29

Raised cholesterol 32

Raised fasting blood glucose 35

Diabetes prevalence 37

Obesity prevalence

Adults, 2002

Adults Men Women0

10

20

30

40

50

Obesity Overweight

%

Survey type: Measured

Age: 20-65

Sample size: 8509

Area covered: National

References: WHO Infobase. Reference from Syrian Arab Steps Report

http://www.who.int/chp/steps/SyrianArabRepublicSTEPSReport.PDF

Unless otherwise noted, overweight refers to a BMI between 25kg and 29.9kg/m², obesity refers to a BMI greater than 30kg/m².

2

http://www.who.int/chp/steps/SyrianArabRepublicSTEPSReport.PDF

Children, 2010-2011

Children Boys Girls0

5

10

15

20

25

Obesity Overweight

%


Age: 15-18

Sample size: 1062

Area covered: Regional

References: Musaiger AO, Al-Manni M, Tayyem R et al. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Adolescents in Seven Arab

Countries: A Cross-Cultural Study. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Obesity, Volume 2012, Article ID 981390,

5 pages doi:10.1155/2012/981390

Notes: Region: Damascus

Cutoffs: IOTF

3

Insufficient physical activity

Children, 2016

BahrainTunisia

UAELebanon

LibyaOman

KuwaitJordan

Iraq DjiboutiYemen

PakistanMorocco

EgyptSyria

Afghanistan

QatarSudan

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

% in

suffi

cien

t phy

sica

l act

ivity

Survey type: Self-reported

Age: 11-17

References: Global Health Observatory data repository, World Health Organisation,

https://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A893ADO?lang=en (last accessed 16.03.21)

Notes: % of school going adolescents not meeting WHO recommendations on Physical Activity for Health, i.e. doing less

than 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily.

Definitions: % Adolescents insufficiently active (age standardised estimate)

4

https://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A893ADO?lang=en

Boys, 2016

TunisiaBahrain

LebanonUAE

LibyaOman

KuwaitIraq Djibouti

JordanEgypt

YemenSyria

MoroccoPakistan

QatarAfghanistan

Sudan

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

% in

suffi

cien

t phy

sica

l act

ivity


Age: 11-17






5


Girls, 2016

UAEBahrain

Afghanistan

LebanonJordan

TunisiaLibya

PakistanDjibouti

YemenOman

KuwaitMorocco

Iraq QatarSudan

SyriaEgypt

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

% in

suffi

cien

t phy

sica

l act

ivity


Age: 11-17






6


Average daily frequency of carbonated soft drink consumption

Children, 2009-2015

Pakistan Syria Sudan Afghanistan Egypt Iraq Oman Palestine UAE Morocco Kuwait Lebanon Qatar0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

Tim

es p

er d

ay


Age: 12-17

References: Beal et al. (2019). Global Patterns of Adolescent Fruit, Vegetable, Carbonated Soft Drink, and Fast-food consumption: A

meta-analysis of global school-based student health surveys. Food and Nutrition Bulletin.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0379572119848287 sourced from Food Systems Dashboard

http://www.foodsystemsdashboard.org/food-system

7

https://doi.org/10.1177/0379572119848287


Estimated per capita fruit intake

Adults, 2017

DjiboutiSomalia

Afghanistan

PakistanIraq Yemen

South Sudan

SudanPalestine

SyriaJordan

LibyaKuwait

Saudi Arabia

TunisiaUAE

LebanonEgypt

MoroccoBahrain

Iran QatarOman

0

50

100

150

200

250

g/da

y


Age: 25+

References: Global Burden of Disease, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation http://ghdx.healthdata.org/

Definitions: Estimated per-capita fruit intake (g/day)

8

http://ghdx.healthdata.org/

Prevalence of less than daily fruit consumption

Children, 2008-2015

Tunisia Egypt Lebanon Morocco Oman Palestine Iraq Pakistan Syria Qatar AfghanistanKuwait Sudan Yemen UAE0

10

20

30

40

50

% <

dai

ly c

onsu

mpt

ion


Age: 12-17

References: Global School-based Student Health Surveys. Beal et al (2019). Global Patterns of Adolescent Fruit, Vegetable,

Carbonated Soft Drink, and Fast-food consumption: A meta-analysis of global school-based student health surveys. Food

and Nutrition Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1177/0379572119848287. Sourced from Food Systems Dashboard


Definitions: Prevalence of less-than-daily fruit consumption (% less-than-daily fruit consumption)

9

https://doi.org/10.1177/0379572119848287.


Prevalence of less than daily vegetable consumption

Children, 2008-2015

Pakistan Morocco Lebanon Tunisia Iraq Egypt Oman Palestine Sudan Kuwait Syria Afghanistan Qatar UAE Yemen0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

% <

dai

ly c

onsu

mpt

ion


Age: 12-17





Definitions: Prevalence of less-than-daily vegetable consumption (% less-than-daily vegetable consumption)

10

https://doi.org/10.1177/0379572119848287


Average weekly frequency of fast food consumption

Children, 2009-2015

Pakistan Syria Sudan Morocco Egypt Oman Palestine Iraq Lebanon Afghanistan UAE Kuwait Qatar0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Tim

es p

er w

eek

Age: 12-17





11

https://doi.org/10.1177/0379572119848287


Estimated per-capita processed meat intake

Adults, 2017

Afghanistan

YemenSomalia

Palestine

SudanSyria

JordanLibya

TunisiaMorocco

Iraq LebanonIran South Sudan

Saudi Arabia

DjiboutiEgypt

PakistanOman

BahrainUAE

KuwaitQatar

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

g/da

y


Age: 25+


Definitions: Estimated per-capita processed meat intake (g per day)

12


Estimated per capita whole grains intake

Adults, 2017

MoroccoLebanon

Afghanistan

Iran YemenJordan

PakistanSudan

SyriaTunisia

LibyaPalestine

BahrainIraq Qatar

UAEDjibouti

Saudi Arabia

KuwaitSomalia

OmanEgypt

South Sudan

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

g/da

y


Age: 25+


Definitions: Estimated per-capita whole grains intake (g/day)

13


Mental health - depression disorders

Adults, 2015

Afghanistan

EgyptSudan

YemenIraq Syria

JordanSomalia

PakistanSouth Sudan

LibyaMorocco

Saudi Arabia

LebanonOman

BahrainIran Tunisia

KuwaitDjibouti

QatarUAE

0

1

2

3

4

5

% o

f pop

ulat

ion

References: Prevalence data from Global Burden of Disease study 2015 (http://ghdx.healthdata.org) published in: Depression and

Other Common Mental Disorders: Global Health Estimates. Geneva:World Health Organization; 2017. Licence: CC BY-

NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

Definitions: % of population with depression disorders

14

http://ghdx.healthdata.org

Mental health - anxiety disorders

Adults, 2015

SomaliaSouth Sudan

DjiboutiPakistan

Afghanistan

OmanSudan

UAEYemen

EgyptQatar

BahrainJordan

Saudi Arabia

SyriaIraq Libya

MoroccoIran Kuwait

TunisiaLebanon

0

1

2

3

4

5

% o

f pop

ulat

ion

References: Prevalence data from Global Burden of Disease study 2015 (http://ghdx.healthdata.org) published in: Depression and

Other Common Mental Disorders: Global Health Estimates. Geneva:World Health Organization; 2017. Licence: CC BY-

NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

Definitions: % of population with anxiety disorders

15

http://ghdx.healthdata.org

% Infants exclusively breastfed 0-5 months

Children, 2010-2019

YemenDjibouti

TunisiaOman

JordanIraq Syria

QatarSomalia

MoroccoEgypt

South Sudan

PakistanIran Sudan

Afghanistan

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

%


References: Nutritional status survey according to SMART methodology, Syria April 2019

Notes: See UNICEF website for further survey information. Available at : https://data.unicef.org/resources/dataset/infant-young-

child-feeding/ (last accessed 28.9.21) Citation: United Nations Children’s Fund, Division of Data, Analysis, Planning and

Monitoring (2021). Global UNICEF Global Databases: Infant and Young Child Feeding: Exclusive breastfeeding, New York,

September 2021.

Definitions: % exclusively breastfed 0-5 months

16

https://data.unicef.org/resources/dataset/infant-young-child-feeding/

https://data.unicef.org/resources/dataset/infant-young-child-feeding/

Oesophageal cancer

Men, 2018

LebanonPalestine

Iraq OmanSyria

TunisiaJordan

BahrainQatar

Saudi Arabia

LibyaMorocco

UAEEgypt

KuwaitDjibouti

SudanYemen

PakistanIran Somalia

South Sudan

Afghanistan

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+

References: Global Cancer Observatory, Cancer incidence rates http://gco.iarc.fr/ (last accessed 30th June 2020)

Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, oesophagus, adults ages 20+. ASR (World) per

100,000

17

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Women, 2018

LibyaPalestine

LebanonSyria

TunisiaIraq Jordan

MoroccoEgypt

Saudi Arabia

BahrainUAE

KuwaitOman

QatarDjibouti

PakistanSudan

Iran South Sudan

YemenAfghanistan

Somalia

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, oesophagus, adults ages 20+. ASR (World) per

100,000

18

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Breast cancer

Women, 2018

LibyaYemen

Saudi Arabia

Afghanistan

Iran TunisiaSouth Sudan

OmanIraq Sudan

DjiboutiSomalia

QatarPakistan

BahrainMorocco

EgyptUAE

KuwaitPalestine

JordanSyria

Lebanon

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, breast, females, ages 20+. ASR (World) per

100,000

19

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Colorectal cancer

Men, 2018

PakistanAfghanistan

DjiboutiSudan

EgyptIraq South Sudan

SomaliaYemen

OmanMorocco

KuwaitLibya

TunisiaQatar

BahrainSyria

Iran UAEJordan

Saudi Arabia

LebanonPalestine

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, colorectum, adults, ages 20+. ASR (World) per

100,000

20

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Women, 2018

Afghanistan

PakistanSudan

Iraq DjiboutiEgypt

South Sudan

SomaliaYemen

OmanMorocco

Saudi Arabia

TunisiaIran Bahrain

LibyaUAE

QatarKuwait

SyriaPalestine

JordanLebanon

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, colorectum, adults, ages 20+. ASR (World) per

100,000

21

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Pancreatic cancer

Men, 2018

DjiboutiSudan

PakistanSomalia

Afghanistan

QatarSouth Sudan

UAEYemen

Saudi Arabia

MoroccoIraq Tunisia

KuwaitIran Oman

BahrainSyria

Palestine

LebanonEgypt

JordanLibya

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, pancreas, adults, ages 20+. ASR (World) per

100,000

22

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Women, 2018

PakistanDjibouti

Afghanistan

SudanSaudi Arabia

SomaliaMorocco

TunisiaSouth Sudan

Iraq YemenOman

JordanSyria

Iran EgyptLebanon

BahrainPalestine

LibyaQatar

KuwaitUAE

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, pancreas, adults, ages 20+. ASR (World) per

100,000

23

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Gallbladder cancer

Men, 2018

DjiboutiYemen

SudanSouth Sudan

SomaliaAfghanistan

MoroccoIraq Egypt

Iran BahrainSaudi Arabia

PakistanLebanon

LibyaSyria

KuwaitTunisia

Palestine

QatarJordan

OmanUAE

0

1

2

3

4

5

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, gallbladder, adults, ages 20+. ASR (World) per

100,000

24

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Women, 2018

YemenDjibouti

EgyptIran Oman

South Sudan

SudanSaudi Arabia

SomaliaBahrain

MoroccoAfghanistan

Iraq KuwaitPalestine

LebanonSyria

TunisiaJordan

QatarPakistan

LibyaUAE

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, gallbladder, adults, ages 20+. ASR (World) per

100,000

25

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Kidney cancer

Men, 2018

YemenSouth Sudan

DjiboutiSomalia

SudanPakistan

Afghanistan

MoroccoBahrain

OmanQatar

TunisiaIraq Kuwait

EgyptIran Saudi Arabia

UAEJordan

SyriaLibya

Palestine

Lebanon

0

2

4

6

8

10

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, kidney, adults, ages 20+. ASR (World) per 100,000

26

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Women, 2018

YemenSouth Sudan

BahrainMorocco

SudanPakistan

Afghanistan

SomaliaDjibouti

EgyptIraq Oman

KuwaitTunisia

LibyaIran Syria

Saudi Arabia

JordanLebanon

Palestine

QatarUAE

0

1

2

3

4

5

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, kidney, adults, ages 20+. ASR (World) per 100,000

27

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Cancer of the uterus

Women, 2018

YemenIraq Egypt

Iran Palestine

Saudi Arabia

JordanKuwait

SyriaBahrain

QatarTunisia

LebanonOman

UAEAfghanistan

PakistanSudan

LibyaDjibouti

MoroccoSomalia

South Sudan

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Inci

denc

e pe

r 100

,000

Age: 20+


Definitions: Estimated age-standardized incidence rates (World) in 2018, cervix uteri, females, ages 20+. ASR (World) per

100,000

28

http://gco.iarc.fr/

Raised blood pressure

Adults, 2015

Iran LebanonJordan

UAEBahrain

QatarTunisia

Saudi Arabia

KuwaitLibya

SyriaOman

EgyptIraq Morocco

DjiboutiPakistan

Afghanistan

YemenSomalia

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

% ra

ised

blo

od p

ress

ure


http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A875?lang=en

Definitions: Age Standardised estimated % Raised blood pressure 2015 (SBP>=140 OR DBP>=90).

29


Men, 2015

Iran UAEBahrain

QatarJordan

LebanonTunisia

Saudi Arabia

EgyptSyria

LibyaKuwait

Iraq OmanMorocco

DjiboutiYemen

Afghanistan

PakistanSomalia

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

% ra

ised

blo

od p

ress

ure




30


Women, 2015

LebanonUAE

JordanIran Bahrain

QatarKuwait

Saudi Arabia

LibyaOman

TunisiaSyria

Iraq EgyptDjibouti

MoroccoPakistan

Afghanistan

YemenSomalia

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

% ra

ised

blo

od p

ress

ure




31


Raised cholesterol

Adults, 2008

Afghanistan

SomaliaPakistan

YemenSudan

LibyaDjibouti

MoroccoSaudi Arabia

EgyptSyria

TunisiaIraq Lebanon

JordanOman

BahrainIran Kuwait

QatarUAE

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

% ra

ised

cho

lest

erol


http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A885

Definitions: % Raised total cholesterol (>= 5.0 mmol/L) (age-standardized estimate).

32


Men, 2008

Afghanistan

SomaliaPakistan

YemenSudan

EgyptLibya

MoroccoSaudi Arabia

DjiboutiTunisia

SyriaLebanon

Iraq JordanOman

Iran BahrainKuwait

QatarUAE

0

10

20

30

40

50

% ra

ised

cho

lest

erol




33


Women, 2008

Afghanistan

SomaliaPakistan

SudanYemen

DjiboutiLibya

MoroccoSaudi Arabia

SyriaTunisia

Iraq EgyptLebanon

JordanOman

BahrainKuwait

QatarIran UAE

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

% ra

ised

cho

lest

erol




34


Raised fasting blood glucose

Men, 2014

SomaliaDjibouti

SudanYemen

BahrainPakistan

Afghanistan

LebanonOman

Iran TunisiaMorocco

SyriaUAE

LibyaSaudi Arabia

JordanIraq Qatar

KuwaitEgypt

0

5

10

15

20

% ra

ised

fast

ing

bloo

d gl

ucos

e



Definitions: Age Standardised % raised fasting blood glucose (>= 7.0 mmol/L or on medication).

35


Women, 2014

SomaliaSudan

DjiboutiIran Afghanistan

BahrainTunisia

PakistanYemen

MoroccoSyria

OmanLebanon

UAELibya

EgyptJordan

Iraq Saudi Arabia

QatarKuwait

0

5

10

15

20

% ra

ised

fast

ing

bloo

d gl

ucos

e



Definitions: Age Standardised % raised fasting blood glucose (>= 7.0 mmol/L or on medication).

36


Diabetes prevalence

Adults, 2021

YemenSomalia

South Sudan

DjiboutiLebanon

LibyaIran Morocco

TunisiaIraq Afghanistan

BahrainOman

SyriaJordan

UAESaudi Arabia

SudanQatar

EgyptKuwait

Pakistan

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

% d

iabe

tes

prev

alen

ce

Age: 20-79


References: Reproduced with kind permission International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 10th edn. Brussels,

Belgium:International Diabetes Federation, 2021. http://www.diabetesatlas.org

Definitions: Age-adjusted comparative prevalence of diabetes, %

PDF created on February 1, 2022

37

http://www.diabetesatlas.org

Documents

Report card: Syrian Arab Republic - Global Obesity Observatory