Don’t feature fat, obese people on TV, Egyptian President warns

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who spoke during a live TV show, warned television houses not to feature presenters or guests if such persons are fat, obese people.

The Egyptian President who drew criticism with his comment, complained about the number of overweight people he sees and told Egyptians that they must take better care of themselves. He further stated that  physical education should become part of the core curriculum at schools and universities and suggested TV shows should not let presenters or guests on the air if they are overweight.

“The second I walk into any place, I look at things you cannot possibly imagine I would notice and I ask myself: ‘What is this? Who are these people? Why are these people not looking after themselves?” Sisi said on December 15.

Sisi who was tackled for not offering concrete plans to combat obesity and spread fitness, was also accused of fat-shaming and taking an elitist approach to a problem whose roots lie to a large extent in poverty.