Health and beauty report, Saudi Arabia

Saudi society is affluent and many families have the luxury of live-in maids and drivers who make life that much easier and perhaps less physically demanding. Meals packed with fibre rich foods have been replaced by fast food and meat based dishes.

Health overview

Using claimed height and weight data, TNS calculated the BMI (Body Mass Index - Kg/m2). The results of this are given in the chart below.

It shows that about three-fifth (60 per cent) of the local population is over-weight. However, what is interesting is the manner in which BMI varies across gender and age groups.



As age increases, so does BMI - this would be clearly an indication of the increase in sedentary lifestyle as one ages. What is noteworthy, is the fact that in their younger years, females have a better BMI than men - however as they age, females tend to put on more weight than men.



As women age, they tend to get heavier and it is perhaps natural for a woman to put on up to 1kg/year or more. The majority of Saudi women in mid to upper social classes have maids who tend to take care of the majority of household responsibilities.

Most women do try dieting from time to time, but overall few exercise or do aerobics. Due to their conservative lifestyle, they spend most of their free time in social activities that involve food in one way or another. For some, walking in the mall or around the block is their only exercise.

Affluence however does not have any impact on BMI in Saudi Arabia, unlike other developing countries where people belonging to the lower social classes have malnutrition problems and are underweight.

Yes, overall the Saudi population is overweight - but do they consider themselves to be overweight? We asked them a question to describe their body weight in relation to the other people in the Saudi society at large and the responses again reveal an intriguing picture.

Nearly 38 per cent of the population considered themselves to be lighter in weight than they actually were. Or put another way, more than half (57 per cent) of people who are overweight / obese considered themselves to be of lighter than the average weight.

This could be interpreted in two ways - either it could be self-denial or because overall Saudi society is on average overweight, it could be that in contrast to the rest of society they perceive themselves to be fitter than they actually are.

Either way, it is worrisome given that these people do not perceive their weight to be a problem and are perhaps less likely to take any preventive measures.

Saudi society

Four segments were uncovered in the research: A brief description of each is given below, followed by some possible marketing cues to tap into each segment more effectively.

Segment 1: Inner Harmony (22 per cent)

These are people who think that good health comes from being naturally healthy and having physiological peace. Interestingly enough this is the segment that is overweight bordering on obese (based on the computed BMI).

They also acknowledge this fact and consider their health to be poor and perceive themselves to be quite overweight compared to others.

Having woken up to the fact that their health is not as good as it should be, they do take some steps to improve by doing health checkups and following a dieting programme. However, they do not exercise, and though they have an interest in sports, it is limited to watching rather than active participation.

This also ties in with the perception that they consider good health as not having any mental or physical ailments as opposed to being physically fit.

This is also the segment which considers the prevalence of obesity related problems like cholesterol, blood pressure, obesity to be quite high in Saudi society - a classic case of perceiving society as they perceive themselves to be.

Beauty to them means having inner beauty and self-confidence rather than being driven by outward physical beauty.

Hence women in this segment at the beauty parlour indulge more in activities which bring out their beauty (like facials, head bath, waxing, Moroccan baths rather than in styling related activities). They are slightly older in age and in terms of physical description are of average height, but overweight.

Segment 2: Eat Right Be Smart & Simple (20 per cent)

This segment considers the way to achieving good health is through eating a balanced diet and following a (strict) health regime. This is reflected in their behaviour as well as claims that they follow diet programmes for weight maintenance. This seems to work for them as this segment has the lowest BMI. They perceive themselves to be in good health and have a normal weight.

In terms of profile, this segment is predominantly made of young females and perhaps not surprisingly they are shorter in height than the other segments. In terms of physical activities, they do not do much and do not seem to have much interest in sports or sports related activities. Hence their only means of weight maintenance is dieting.

Beauty to them means being simple, decent, smart and intellectual. So while they visit beauty parlours, they have the smallest repertoire of activities done at the parlour and with main attention centred more on maintenance activities like facials, manicures & waxing.

Segment 3: Live Life King Size (30 per cent)

A clearly male dominated segment - their main themes for good health are feeling youthful, being active and energetic and living life to the fullest. Not surprisingly they are also young.

They perceive themselves to be in quite good health and have very low perceptions of obesity related problems in Saudi society such as cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. They exercise regularly and are very involved in sports; both active as well as passive involvement.

Beauty in a woman to them means being delicate, feminine, sensual and seductive.

Overall, a physically active segment who believe in living life to the fullest. This segment has the most Future Shapers/ Makers, indicating that this would be the segment that would be the earliest to adopt new products/technologies.

Segment 4: External Beauty Seekers (28 per cent)

This segment is fascinating and full of dichotomies. On one hand they believe that they are very healthy and on the other hand they consider themselves slightly overweight. This could be a segment that is in self-denial - refusing to acknowledge the fact that their health is not as good as they think, or would like it to be.

To them good health means being physically fit, having a good body structure and being fertile. However, they do nothing in order to achieve this - they do not diet nor exercise - even their interest in sports is limited to watching it rather than active participation.

Clearly a very sedentary segment and perhaps at most risk of obesity related problems because of their self-denial. They accept the fact these problems are quite prevalent in Saudi society, but do not attribute these problems to themselves.

Beauty to them is extremely outwardly driven - looking gorgeous & beautiful is key along with being naturally beautiful. This is clearly reflected in a long list of activities undertaken at the beauty parlour like styling, eyebrow shaping, make up, manicure, pedicure, etc.

They also have the highest incidence of using beauty/cosmetic products to change skin-tone and facial beauty. This segment comprises of slightly more females and is older in profile.

Some Marketing Thoughts

How can marketers customise their offerings to make them relevant to each segment? We thought of looking at the food & beverages sector or ideas.

The 'Inner Harmony' and 'Smart & Simple' segments share a lot of common themes. Both are focused more internally (self-confidence, simple, smart, intellectual) and also believe/do dieting. For the 'Inner Harmony' segment, dieting is a means of control, and for the 'Smart & Simple' segment, dieting is a means of maintenance.

So, these two segments are the ones most likely to purchase low-fat products albeit for different reasons. The product benefit that both the segments would relate to is internal health & beauty related.

Hence a gorgeous model illustrating these benefits would not work well in this regards; a better approach would be a smart housewife promoting natural healthiness of the product.

Taste (as long as it is within acceptable threshold limits) might not be big factor in their decision to buy the brand; the tangible health benefit it offers would be the chief influencer.

For the 'Live Life King Size' segment, the marketing strategy could revolve around excitement and action. The Mountain Dew ad and its positioning is a good example of this. People in this segment constantly seek variety, experiment with value-added products, flavours and varieties and are willing to pay a premium.

This segment has probably tried quite a few varieties of breakfast cereals, for example. Marketers targeting this segment cannot afford to be complacent - they constantly need to be innovating their offering to maintain this segment's loyalty.

The 'External Beauty' segment are attracted to things that are physically appealing - hence celebrity endorsements work well with this segment. This segment probably consumes full-fat products as they tend more towards indulgence.

Packaging also plays a key role in attracting this segment to buy - they would not only be interested in how good the product tastes, but also how good the product looks when it is placed on their kitchen/ refrigerator shelf.