this natural way of passing the body's waste has significant health benefits

If you have been watching the news over the last few weeks you will have seen thousands of protesting Arabs demanding democracy and freedom from oppressive rulers. If you compare these Arab protesters to the UK protesters recently seen in Trafalgar Square apart from an obvious slightly darker skin color you probably also noticed that the Arab people are considerably slimmer than most European people.

So far most Arab nations have resisted the onslaught of fast food restaurants which have been the cause of huge increases in obesity rates in developing countries like Mexico and much of South America. However a new research project claims that it is not just the healthier diet that the Arabs have which leads to lower rates of obesity but also the way they go to the bathroom.

Western bathrooms with toilets that are like chairs are very rare in Arab countries and the majority of Arab people squat in order to defecate. According to Professor Hamed Bussa from the University of Leicester this much more natural way of passing the body's waste has significant health benefits, one of which is a faster metabolism.

Squatting right down as well as providing daily stretching of the muscles that control the bowel also apparently provides for more efficient and complete release of feces, which had a knock on effect on the whole metabolic rate.

Professor Hamed Bussa said that he believed that western bathrooms could be partly responsible for the growing number of obese people in Europe and America and that the traditional Arab way of going to the bathroom should be instituted worldwide, something that has been already discussed at high levels within the World Health Organization.

He said the evidence was clear because from his study he saw that when Arab families started to use western bathroom there was a marked increase in their weight. In a small study he did with student volunteers at University of Leicester he said the results were significant and that all of the participants reported not only weight loss but also feeling better, and better overall mobility and flexibility.