Being overweight is weighing on my mind.

Byline: Mick O'Reilly, Deputy Managing Editor

Hi, my name is Mick and I'm fat and overweight. I weighed myself in June, I was 195 pounds. I weighed myself on Tuesday, I am 207 pounds. My wife is coming back to Dubai in mid-October. I need to shed 30 pounds by then or she'll skin me alive.

And if I don't get rid of this weight now, I'll be forever stuck with a gut that leaves me missing the view of most of my toes. Not that I like my toes, I think they're ugly. But I've been able to see them all for most of my 48 years, so I kinda do miss the view.

My Muslim friends have no problems seeing all of their toes. I'm not Muslim, but I admire their ability to fast during Ramadan. Fasting is very good for the health but I wouldn't know; I've never tried it. Ramadan is a time of reflection. I just reflect on being overweight. I think I'm going to have to try and fast very fast - mid October is fast approaching.

And while I can make fun of myself and poke fun at my gut, I do know there are really sound medical reasons why I need to shed my fat folds once and for all.

I lead a sedentary lifestyle. If you were to look up that word in a dictionary, all 207 pounds of my fat, blobby body would be there.

In the UAE, 12 per cent of all children are obese, and another 21 per cent are overweight.

I'm overweight.

I'm also at risk for diabetes. One out of every five people aged between 20 and 79 in the UAE have diabetes - the second-highest prevalence of the disease anywhere in the world. That's pretty frightening. Bad eating habits and that sedentary lifestyle are to blame. I plead guilty on both counts.

I used to think that diabetes ran in families. Not so, Anyone can succumb to this disease.

And according to the World Health Organisation, 180 million people have the condition, with that figure doubling by 2030. If I don't do something now, I reckon I'll be in that number.

I just Googled the term 'diabetes society' and I got 13,700,000 hits. That's a lot of information out there and obviously a cause of concern for many.

Reading through the risk factors on Diabetes UK, I'm scared. I think if I don't do something quick, I risk damaging pretty much all of my major organs and systems. It's a bit like the timing belt going on your car - you never want it to happen, and if it does go, watch out. Thankfully though, catastrophic engine failure can be prevented with proper maintenance. I think I need some preventative maintenance.

I think one of the biggest causes (ok, ok, I'm looking for excuses here) of a sedentary lifestyle in the UAE is the weather. It's mostly too hot to go out and exercise. Oh yeah, there's an air-conditioned gym in my building but that seems a little too much like work. (Ok, ok, so I'm lazy but that's not my fault ...)

So now that I've come clean and exposed you all to all of my 207 pounds - sorry for the mental visions everyone - what am I going to do?

Well, first up is exercise. I live at Dubai Marina. I think I'll start with a walk around the area a few nights (Ok, ok every night ...).

And then there's diet. As in eating less? Healthier? Better choices?

This one is going to be a bit trickier.

Isn't there a whole fat phenomenon called the Dubai kilo? It's been statistically proven that ex-pat professionals who move to the UAE put on weight because they exercise less, eat more and alter their lifestyles. So I'm guilty of that a couple of times over - and then some.

And if this whole column about being fat wasn't making my day bad enough, along comes a colleague of mine, Jim Dagar, telling me I missed a great meal last night of stuffed peppers and a fabulous dessert. And when I point to him that I'm pouring my fatty heart out here about being overweight, he chimes in that he's gone from 190 pounds to 174 pounds. He exercises and he swims a couple of times a week. I hate him. I like his wife Kat. She does these amazing stuffed peppers ...

So I guess now that I've publicly outed myself, I'm going to have to report back how the weight loss goes in the coming weeks?

Fat chance.

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