Green Tea & Obesity in Lebanese University Students

Among university students at the Lebanese American University, 37% of males are overweight while 13,6% of females are overweight¹.  In 1996, figures were 23,4% of boys and 19,7% of girls². This evolution (increase in boys while a reduction in girls) may be explained by the societal pressure on girls to be thin, while it is not perceived to be as important for boys.

Knowing the many health problems associated with being overweight, it is essential for BOTH boys and girls to be attentive to their body. In addition to exercising and a healthy diet, drinking green tea seems to help regaining a proper weight.

A study³ conducted at the Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh observed the effects of green tea consumption. A group of students between the ages of 19-37 were asked to drink 4 cups of green tea per day without changing their usual diet. After 14 days, the students showed a reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, in total cholesterol, in body fat and body weight. This may be explained by the high levels of polyphenols and other antioxidants contained in green tea.

Try jasmine green tea and let me know what you think.

You may also be interested by this article on preschoolers’ obesity: Overweight Children in Beirut.

References:

1) Yahia et al., Najat (2008). Eating Habits and Obesity among Lebanese University Students.

2) http://www.iaso.org

3) Emad Al-Dujaili, Jon-Paul Bradley, Suzana Almoosawi & Lorna Fyfe (2009). "Effects of green tea consumption on blood pressure, total cholesterol, body weight and fat in healthy volunteers". Endocrine Abstracts 20: P470.

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Body Scan of Overweight Person

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Overweight Children in Beirut

Turn off the TV, and put away the playstation. A study (1) conducted on 234 children (aged 6-8 years old) in Beirut revealed that the prevalence of obesity was 7% in boys and 6% in girls. The researchers noted that reduced physical activity was the most significant factors associated with childhood overweight. If we are still far from the 15 % of obesity among pre-schoolers in the US (2), we need to be careful the situation doesn’t worsen in Lebanon.



Ref :
1) P. Jabre, P. Sikias, B. Khater-Menassa, R. Baddoura and H. Awada. “Overweight children in Beirut: prevalence estimates and characteristics” Children Care Health Development 31(2):159-165, 2005


2) CDC analyzed the 1998−2008 Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS) data

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