A joint approach

Reports that knee problems have become common in the UAE is posing questions about the respective roles played by obesity and the practice of kneeling to pray five times a day.

A combination of rising obesity rates and the need to kneel to pray have made Muslims in the UAE among the most common sufferers of degenerative knee problems in the world, according to a report published in this newspaper yesterday. Dr Peter Birch, a consultant surgeon at Abu Dhabi’s Mafraq Hospital, described arthritis of the knee as “incredibly common” in the UAE “and that is to do with a kneeling lifestyle”.

The report set off a lively debate on social media and led one commenter to question why the majority of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims don’t show signs of knee problems if praying was so damaging?

There is no doubt, however, that high rates of obesity – more than 66 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women are overweight or obese in this country, according to a recent study – bring with them many other health complications, including added stress on the body’s joints.

Praying alone is unlikely to lead to degenerative knee problems in many, but overeating probably will. Healthy eating is a difficult trick to pull off at this time of year, but it’s worth reminding ourselves that a little less overindulgence at iftar will be good for the mind, body and soul.