Mogadishu, Somalia – Mohamed Abdi is a man on a mission taking on a task many in Somalia dare not attempt.
Mohamed, popularly known as Mo Fit, is a 29-year-old fitness consultant and nutritionist in a country where having a “full figure” is seen as the ideal body image.
What our people see as beautiful, the rest of the world has moved on from that. Our people when they are overweight, they are proud of it,” the father-of-one told Al Jazeera.
If a lady does not have big legs or meat on her face, people say she is not VIP. If men don’t have big bellies, they are seen as poor. That is not the case [in] the rest of the world,” he added.
Every country has a culture and unique food. The way our people consume food is not right. Most of our food is carbs. And many of our people don’t live beyond 40 years,” he said. “Every household it is either pasta, rice or anjeero (Somali pancake) that they consume. Those foods are not necessarily bad but the way we cook, what we add to it and our portions are just wrong.”
What started as a hobby is now such a big deal that Mohammed is now in the process of opening up gyms in the city next.
In the interim, he says his one-man fight against obesity in Somalia will continue.
“You will see a lot of people going to hospitals, they are all feeling unwell. But they don’t need to go to hospital. They need to control their diet, exercise and have good sleep. That is all they need,” he said.
Meet Mo Fit: The Somali trainer fighting obesity in Mogadishu
Mogadishu, Somalia – Mohamed Abdi is a man on a mission taking on a task many in Somalia dare not attempt.
