Increase in health problems is not surprising

Readers express concern over the spike in lifestyle-related health issues. Other topics: teachers' pay, utility tariffs

Readers express concern over people’s unhealthy eating habits. Fatima Al Marzouqi / The National

I am not surprised that benign prostatic hyperplasia, colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes, infertility and cardiovascular disease are increasingly becoming common here (Six common men's-health issues in the UAE: symptoms, risks and solutions, November 18). Each day I see more men with big stomachs and they do not think before entering McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut.

Part of the problem is the limited options of healthy food when eating out. I’ve found the perfect restaurant in Jumeirah Lake Towers that serves up green protein and pasta made from wild rice.

The problem is such restaurants are a rare sight in Dubai and you wouldn’t find them at food courts or malls. Why is it that the longest lines are always at McDonald’s and KFC?

More emphasis must be put on healthy eating. It’s a niche market waiting to be explored.

Randall Mohammed, Dubai

Healthy living involves daily exercise as well as a balanced diet. This has to be part of life and children learn from their parents.

Kim Marsh, Dubai

If we have to maintain a so-called simple lifestyle, the world has to be more simple.

Matthew Litty, Dubai

Concern over new utility tariffs

The further increase in utility bills is alarming (Consumption tariffs are only one step, November 20).

I appreciate that the cost has always been subsidised here, and the increase is bringing the price in line with many other countries.

But it is extremely difficult in the hot months to cut back on air conditioning and use of water. In cold climates, it is easy to put on another layer of clothing to stay warmer and increase our activity. Here, we have no choice.

Houses here are very badly insulated, also adding to the cost of air conditioning and we have no option but to live in them.

Old properties will now become unrentable as the cost of cooling them becomes prohibitively high.

We are informed that the added costs are to make people more conservative in energy usage for the benefit of the environment.

More beneficial to the environment of this country would be to build houses with proper levels of insulation and increase the use of solar power.

Name withheld by request

Why no pay rise for teachers?

In the article More affordable approach urged for school operators (October 31), Clive Pierrepont, a spokesman for Taaleem, has been quoted saying: "Good schools will never slash fees because the majority of their overheads are staff costs and school performance is inextricably linked to the quality of teachers." Then why do teachers' salaries remain static despite year-on-year increase in fees?

The majority of fees see their way into the pockets of shareholders. The sad reality is that education here is an exercise in profiteering.

Adnan Shroufi, Dubai

The underlying problem is that these schools are run for profit.

Michal Teague, Dubai

Sandboarding is nothing new

Regarding the news item Sandboarding hits the dunes of the UAE (November 18), when I grew up here in the 1980s, people were already skiing on the dunes. I remember one of my father's colleagues breaking her leg doing so. It's not new and many safari operators give sandboards to tourists.

Gèni Cabré, Dubai