Health Minister: 60% of Iranians are overweight

Health Minister Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi stated on Sunday that about 60 percent of Iranians are overweight.

Talking to the Mehr News Agency, she also said that 35 percent of women and 15 percent of men suffer from obesity in Iran.

International statistics indicate that every year about two million people die around the world due to lack of exercise, she explained.

The health minister mentioned regular exercise and good nutrition as two main factors for human health, adding unfortunately only 20 percent of Iranians take regular exercise.

She also said that 11 percent of Iranians suffer from diabetes and only half of them are aware of their disease.

12 percent of Iranians are at risk of developing diabetes, Vahid-Dastjerdi added.

She advised people to take a walk for 30 minutes per day to reduce the risk of heart diseases by 50 percent.