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RICHARD BENSON HOFFMAN
Department of Sociology
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Title
Obesity: A Sociological Analysis of Body Image Attitudes Among Emirati Men
Faculty Advisor
Prof. El-Sayed El-Aswad
Defense Date
27 April 2016
Abstract
This dissertation is concerned with the problem of obesity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE has
a high prevalence of obesity. This dissertation provided recommendations to improve obesity interventions
in the UAE by exploring the body image attitudes (how people think and feel about their bodies and the
bodies of others) of young, Emirati men. The sample was 340 Emirati citizen men between the ages 18-
29 from all seven emirates. The data was collected through focus groups, a survey, and interviews. The
prevalence of overweight and obesity of the survey sample was 28.9% and 19%, respectively. Two-thirds
of the survey sample consumed fast food (16.8% consumed it daily and 33.8% consumed it several
times per week). With regards to physical activity, 43.3% of the sample either rarely or never were doing
physical activity or only were practicing on a “light” basis. The most commonly mentioned influences
on body image attitudes of young Emirati men were religion, occupation, marriage, region, friends,
technology, gym, fashion, and media. The top three most important influences were religion, marriage,
and occupation, respectively. The percentage of survey participants who indicated satisfaction with their
bodies was 68.3%. In light of this new data, the researcher recommends designing obesity interventions
with more health messaging in an Islamic context, targeting married men to prevent post-marriage weight
gain, a campaign to prepare young, Emirati men for employment focusing on their appearance as well as
expanding the health promotion that already exists in workplaces. This work contributes new knowledge
and enlightens readers about the body image attitudes of an understudied group: young, Emirati men. It
also adds literature that could be useful to future obesity research in the UAE.
Dissertation