Bahrain, Turkey are Middle East's biggest eaters: Oxford rankings

Al-Monitor Staff

Jul 12, 2023

This photo taken on July 10, 2012, in Ankara shows people at a traditional "doner" fast food restaurant. In Turkey 35% of the population has accumulated excess body fat to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. The Turkish health ministry has launched a campaign calling on Turks to be more active. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/GettyImages) — This photo taken on July 10, 2012, in Ankara shows people at a traditional "doner" fast-food restaurant. In Turkey, 35% of the population has accumulated excess body fat to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. — ADEM ALTAN/AFP/GettyImages

Bahrain, Turkey and Israel are the Middle East and North Africa region’s biggest eaters, a ranking of average daily calorie consumption this week showed.

Oxford University's online data-gathering website, Our World in Data, ranked 185 countries around the world according to their average daily kilocalorie consumption in its index.

Bahrain has become the world’s sole nation where daily calorie consumption exceeded the 4,000-kilocalorie benchmark, surpassing Ireland and the United States from the previous year. According to data, the average daily calorie consumption in the country reached 4,012 kilocalories. The ranking lists Turkey as the world’s top fifth biggest eater at 3,762.

Among the Middle East and North African nations, Israel and Algeria also made their way into the top 20 biggest eaters globally by consuming 3,570 and 3,519 calories daily, respectively.