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MoH to study nutritional status of residents

The household survey is being undertaken as part of the National Nutrition Strategy launched last month.

Officials hope the strategy will help change the eating patterns in households to curb the burgeoning burden of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

“The survey will primarily target four groups including pre-schoolers, primary and secondary schoolgoers, youth as well as women of child bearing stages in both rural and urban settings,” said Dr Mahmoud Fikri, CEO Health Policies Affairs at MoH.

“We know that diabetes and obesity are a cause for concern in the country but there are no national figures that can give us the real extent of the situation and what action we should take,” explained Dr Fikri.

Based on the World Health Organization’s recommendations, the survey will also take in to account the growth standards including motor development, feeding habits and micronutrient assessment in children aged upto 60 months.

It will also assess adolescents and youth (5-19 years) and measure the BMI and selected NCD risk factors in women of childbearing age, and possibly adult men as well, said Dr Fikri.

Officials from different health sectors met for a week-long meeting that will set the pace for the survey.

“We will assess what kind of questionnaire and method of surveying is most suitable for this country,” said Dr Salah Al Badawi, Director of the National Project for Control of Diabetes who helped draft the strategy.

According to the draft Nutrition Strategy, knowledge on nutritional health is still limited in the society.

At present, 20 per cent of school children aged between 8-12 years are overweight due to poor food choices offered in school canteens.

As per UAE University studies, 43 per cent of UAE national females are overweight, 31.6 per cent of the population suffers from hypertension while 50 per cent of the people live a sedentary lifestyle. — asmaalizain@khaleejtimes

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