Obesity in Morocco (Part THREE, of a SIX-Part Series): How Recent Changes in Income Levels, New Machines, and Methods of Transport Are Affecting Obesity Levels

This is Part THREE in a six-part series on Obesity in Morocco.

This post will deal with how recent changes in income levels, new machines, and methods of transport are affecting obesity levels in Morocco.

Income Levels and Transport:

Income levels have been rising, although unevenly. Taxi drivers’ and gardeners’ incomes have not been rising much. Maids, on the other hand, are receiving a bonanza in increased earnings.

Thousands of new guest houses (small bed-and-breakfast riad hotels, such as in Marrakesh) have opened, which have tripled maids’ salaries in the past three years. The poor (maids and guardians, and young people of middle and upper classes) are now being able to afford motorcycles for the first time.

Moroccan on a Motorcycle – Photo by Mike Werner

In the past, most of the middle classes were on motorcycles, and the poorer classes could only afford walking, or public buses. Now, the poor are on motorcycles, while the middle classes are starting to be able to afford small cars. There has been an explosion in traffic these past two or three years.

This is the first generation among the middle classes which are now being driven, or riding; whereas a few years back, they were mostly walking. Overweight is now starting appear among middle-class children and teenagers. Most Moroccan schools do not have P.E. (sport) every day, but instead only once or twice weekly.

The rich have moved up these past three years from Mercedes sedans to luxurious four-wheel drive vehicles.

Rich children never walk ANYWHERE. To be seen walking (or using public transport) is a sign you are poor. So this means that even middle-class children are walking far less than they used to. Many middle-class children want to “appear” rich to their peers, so they make sure to take a taxi if parents are not driving them.

Washing Machines and Dishwashers:

Twenty years ago, only the rich had washing machines. “Rich” French ladies had a type that washed, but you had to take out the clothes, then rinse and wring them out yourself. That type is still available, but is now being purchased by the very poor. Formerly, the middle classes had no washing machines. Ten years ago, the upper middle classes bought small washing machines.

Five years ago, the lower middle classes started to buy washing machines on monthly credit. Now the very poor are starting to buy the very old-fashioned and less expensive type described above. Washing machines save a lot of labor (and calories) in the home, particularly for girls who are now going to school, and women who are now working outside the home. Most middle-class homes do now have small washing machines, that also rinse the clothes properly. Clothes dryers are not yet available.

The rich are now buying dishwashers. But it is the maids who are doing the dishes, who are the dishwashers. The middle classes are not yet buying dishwashers. A very few upper-middle class families who are temporarily without maids are doing their own dishes with the new dishwashers.

Conclusion:

Middle and upper-class Moroccans are eating more than before. They are eating a lot more white bread, junk food, and heavily salted, sugared, and fatty items that were not in their diets before. At the same time, they are taking much less exercise in their daily lives (except for some adolescent boys out playing sport). It is no wonder that overweight is starting to appear among the middle and upper classes.

Part FOUR of this series will deal with psychological and societal factors where many people from the middle classes want to appear “rich and well-fed,” accelerating the trends.

Part FIVE will deal with how the introduction and proliferation of fast food restaurants in Morocco are affecting obesity levels.

Part SIX will deal with the Moroccan tendency toward diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, even at much more moderate weight levels than northern European populations.

Margot

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