RIYADH: The ministries of education and health on Monday jointly launched an initiative aimed at reducing obesity rates among male and female students.
The initiative was launched at one of Riyadh’s schools, located in a housing complex affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The campaign, sponsored by Aquafina and Quicker, comes at the start of the second school semester, and targets 1,000 general education schools in six regions and provinces in its first stage including Riyadh, Jeddah, Najran, Jouf, Eastern Province and Makkah, Saudi Press Agency said.
Later, Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah and Minister of Education Dr. Ahmed Al-Isa honored winning students in a drawing contest accompanying the campaign. They also inspected a mini-exhibition organized on this occasion.
The initiative primarily targets 6,000 schools, or 20 percent of the Kingdom’s general education schools, for the next five years, and falls within one of the Ministry of Health’s initiatives.
It also aims to enhance a healthy life through the improvement of eating habits and increased physical activity of students due to association of obesity with many non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, and arthritis.
Based on figures of the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1.4 billion adults are overweight, and over 40 million children under five suffer from obesity across the world.
On the other hand, the obesity rate in the Kingdom stands at 28.7 percent while obesity among the over 15-year age category stands at 30.7 percent, based on the National Survey of Health Information for 2013.
Officials of the ministries of health and education see that schools are a suitable place for protective intervention as many schools are located in districts with many primary health care centers.
The initiative is meant to reduce the rates of obesity among children and school students to 5 percent in the next five years in the selected schools.
Experts say prosperity and new lifestyles are behind the spread of obesity among Saudis at an alarming rate. Accordingly, physical activity among youths has declined and paved the way for the spread of obesity-related diseases.
Initiative launched to reduce obesity among Riyadh school students
Initiative launched to reduce obesity among Riyadh school students
Threat to Kingdom’s security is ‘red line’ that will be ‘addressed and neutralized,’ Saudi envoy says
- Abdulaziz Alwasil tells UN Security Council the situation in southern Yemen is ‘a just cause with social and historic dimensions’ that can only be resolved through dialogue
- Recent military activity in the south was unilateral, resulting in an escalation that harms the interests of Yemeni people and undermines efforts to address issues in the south, he said
NEW YORK CITY: Any attempt to threaten Saudi Arabia’s national security is a “red line” and will be met with decisive action, the Kingdom’s ambassador to the UN told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Speaking during a meeting of the council to discuss Yemen, Abdulaziz Alwasil said the situation in the south of the country is “a just cause with social and historic dimensions” that can only be resolved through dialogue.
“We stress that any attempt to threaten our national security is a red line, and we will not hesitate to take the necessary actions and steps to address it and neutralize it,” he added.
Alwasil reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s support for Yemeni President Rashad Al-Alimi, the Presidential Leadership Council, and the Yemeni government in their efforts to achieve security, stability, development and peace while preserving national unity.
He said military activity by Southern Transitional Council forces in Hadramout and Al-Mahra on Dec. 2, 2025, was unilateral, did not have the approval of the Presidential Leadership Council, and was not carried out in coordination with the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.
It had resulted in an unjustified escalation that harmed the interests of the Yemeni people, undermined efforts to address the issues in the south, and ran counter to the coalition’s objectives, Alwasil added.
The Kingdom, working with its coalition partners, the Presidential Leadership Council and the Yemeni government, had moved to contain the situation by dispatching a military force to coordinate arrangements with the Southern Transitional Council in Aden, he said.
The aim was to ensure the return of the southern council’s forces to their previous positions outside of Hadramout and Al-Mahra, and the handover of camps to legitimate government forces and local authorities in line with agreed procedures, Alwasil added.
He expressed regret over the military operations that took place in Hadramout and Al-Mahra, close to Saudi Arabia’s southern border, which he said posed a direct threat to the Kingdom’s national security, as well as the security of Yemen and regional stability. Such steps were extremely dangerous, he added, and contradicted the principles on which the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen had been founded.
Alwasil welcomed a prisoner and detainee exchange agreement signed in Muscat on Dec. 23, which he described as an important humanitarian measure to alleviate suffering and build confidence.
He praised Oman for hosting and sponsoring the consultations and supporting negotiations, and commended the efforts of UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, the International Committee of the Red Cross and all others that has played a part.
Regarding the political efforts to resolve the crisis, Alwasil said Saudi Arabia welcomed President Al-Alimi’s call for an inclusive conference in Riyadh to bring together all stakeholders to discuss just solutions to the situation in southern Yemen.
Preparations for the conference have begun, he added, in cooperation with the Yemeni government and southern representatives, reflecting the close ties between the two countries and their shared interests in stabilizing Yemen.
He urged all southern stakeholders to participate actively and constructively in the talks, to help find comprehensive and just solutions that meet the legitimate aspirations of the people of southern Yemen.
Alwasil called on all Yemeni forces and stakeholders to cooperate and intensify their efforts to reach a lasting political settlement that would ensure security and stability.
He described the southern issue as “a just cause with social and historic dimensions,” adding that “the only way to address it is through dialogue that leads to a comprehensive political solution” based on nationally and internationally agreed terms of reference.
