31% of Residents skip breakfast

31% of Qatar’s residents skip breakfast: study
Some 31% of Qatar residents do not consider breakfast as an important meal of the day, a new study has found.
An independent study on the health and fitness trends conducted by Zarca Interactive, a leading provider of online survey solutions, across 300 respondents has identified interesting health and fitness trends amongst the residents of Qatar.
The findings of the maiden survey for Qatar revealed that 31% respondents do not consider breakfast as an important meal of the day of which cent percent respondents quoted lack of time as the only reason for not consuming breakfast.
Zarca Interactive’s health and fitness study for Qatar vindicates the World Health Organisation reports highlighted during the meeting at the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region in Egypt which alerted that the increasing use of television and computers was leading to sedentary lifestyles.
As per the study, 70% of the respondents from Qatar resorted to television and Internet to relieve their stress instead of indulging in any physical activity. Further complementing the trend for lack of movement is the increased intake of fried foods by the residents of Qatar. The study reveals that 61% respondents from Qatar consume fried foods at least twice a week.
According to the survey, which comprised of over 76% males, a combination of toast and coffee is the preferred breakfast option for 68% of the respondents, closely followed by cereals and eggs. The water intake levels witnessed a healthy trend with over 60% respondents confirming an intake of at least 1.5 liters of water everyday.
The intake of multivitamins as a regular diet met with skepticism, with over 35% respondents considering them expensive and a waste of money. Some 10% respondents, however, continued with their multivitamin doses as prescribed by the doctor. While the intake percentage of multivitamins might be low, more than 86% respondents were found to be highly aware about verifying the manufacturing and expiry dates for various products.
An indication towards an increase in the sleeping disorder cases in Qatar is one of the key highlights of the Zarca health and fitness survey.
The study reveals that sleeping disorders are on a rise amongst Qatar residents, with only 32% respondents confirming that they were able to manage an eight hour sleep on a daily basis, with over 16% admitting that they could never manage a comfortable sleep.
Following a similar trend, the survey revealed that 57% of respondents from Qatar did not know how to calculate their body mass index (BMI), which leads to the discovery of the fact that 72% of the respondents found themselves slightly overweight or obese.
The first survey implemented by Zarca Interactive in Qatar witnessed the participation of 300 respondents. The respondent base for the health and fitness survey primarily comprised of Qatar nationals, followed closely by Asian and Arab expatriates.