Earlier last week, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi commented about Egypt’s obesity rate leaving room for trolls to mock his commentary through memes that have circulated social media. This was the second time the president emphasizes on the obesity epidemic that has been taking over Egypt. During a conference on 15 December, Egypt’s Minister of Health revealed new data on Egyptians’ average weight. Upon hearing the statistics, Al-Sisi questioned the audience “why are we doing this to ourselves?” He then emphasized the importance of exercise and a healthy lifestyle for about 20 minutes. His comments did not sit well with Egyptians, and instead many took to social media to mock his commentary. One meme was a picture of a woman being arrested while she was asking the officer ” What’s wrong? I only gained two kilograms.” Egypt’s new Hepatitis C campaign, which was an initiative by President Sisi, measures the height and weight of patients. Almost 13 million out of the 17 million who were checked were overweight, the minister highlighted. According to a recent study by the World Health Organization (WHO), around 63 percent of Egyptians are overweight, 36…
President Sisi’s Comments about Obesity Become Internet Memes
December 23, 2018
