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New Policies to Tackle Obesity Among Children

DUBAI - Health policies, based on the outcome of an ongoing Unicef-backed campaign, will soon be implemented in the country to tackle child obesity. According to a recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Health (MoH), the number of obese children in the country now stands at 52.8 per cent.

The policies will be based on the most successful parameters of Unicef’s Fat Truth campaign that was launched on April 20 and will end on July 20. Once implemented, the policies are expected to govern school health programmes as well as the food and beverages and advertising industries in the country.

In a meeting with the Primary Health Care providers during the final leg of the campaign on Saturday, a senior health official said the ministry had benefited a lot from the campaign in its efforts to find ways to fight childhood obesity.

“We will announce the results by the year-end and make maximum efforts to change the Unicef’s recommendations into policies,” said Dr Mahmoud Fikri, CEO of Health Policies in the Ministry of Health. The ongoing campaign targets stakeholders including the government, communities, parents, schools, corporate sector (food industry) and mass media. Recent figures suggest that one fast-food chain in the country sells at least 20,000 burgers a day while 65 per cent of UAE residents eat at a fast-food chain at least once a week. The UAE fast food industry grosses up to $117 million in a year while sales in the GCC stand at $600 million a year.

As part of the upcoming policies, healthcare providers have also called for an updated National Health Plan for Diet and Physical Activity that can include monitoring, screening and counselling at the school level.

“We need preventive and training programmes as well as guidelines to manage obesity,” said Dr Mariam Al Matroushi, director of Health Legislation Department in the MoH. Metabolic Syndrome (MS), a cluster of diseases that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes is also rapidly on the rise due to obesity.

During a school health programme conducted among 260 national students in Al Ain, the syndrome was found to be prevalent in 44 per cent of them. A survey among those checked also revealed that 94.5 per cent were psychologically affected by their condition while 76.9 per cent said they were depressed.

Abu Dhabi has already prioritised MS in its targeted intervention plans. “Over-nutrition exceeds under-nutrition in its global impact,” said Dr Jennifer Moore, section head of Family and School Health at Health Authority-Abu Dhabi. The campaign was launched under the patronage of Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com