Sami Abdel Raouf (Dubai)
The national policy to promote healthy lifestyles identified 16 measures and proposals to reduce unhealthy food consumption and 15 measures to stimulate healthy physical activity for different groups of society according to social, cultural and economic determinants and in various environments.
The Ministry of Health and Community Protection stressed the importance of preventing and addressing changeable risk factors associated with lifestyle diseases and their social and economic determinants, noting that it has taken many measures aimed at improving dietary and physical behavior and tobacco control for all segments of society by following a healthy lifestyle.
The national policy to promote healthy lifestyles prepared by the Ministry in cooperation with other concerned and competent authorities at the state level indicated that there is an urgent need for intensive efforts towards promoting physical activity, reducing sedentary behavior, improving dietary habits and combating smoking among all groups of society in order to reduce Disease risks associated with unhealthy lifestyles.
In detail, the national policy to promote healthy lifestyles stated that among the work procedures for reducing unhealthy food consumption, undertaken by the competent authorities, was to provide appropriate models and methods so that diet and physical activity interventions constitute an integrated component of health care in the health sector. in the state.
She pointed to the adoption of public health programs in accordance with the best scientific standards to improve the eating habits of various groups of society in accordance with the social, cultural and economic determinants and in various environments, such as the work environment, study and social gatherings, and focus on the groups most at risk of unhealthy food as well as focus on the youth group.
She pointed to reducing the rate of people eating foods rich in salt (sodium), reducing the rate of people eating foods rich in sugar, increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables, as well as reducing the rate of people eating foods rich in trans fats.
guiding standards
She stated that standards, guidelines and recommendations for society in general and for food producers and importers in particular have been developed at the state level, with regard to reducing the level of salt or sodium in pre-packaged or processed foods and removing – as much as possible – the food supply completely from hydrogenated fatty acids (and replacing them with fatty acids). unsaturated fats), in addition to reducing the content of free and added sugars in food and beverages.
She stressed the intensification of efforts to promote healthy lifestyles for groups at risk of unhealthy lifestyles, and to ensure healthy nutrition in the early stages of life and childhood, including the encouragement of breastfeeding.
The national policy for healthy lifestyles stressed the implementation of the provisions of legislation on food related to infant and child nutrition, the application of the International Code of Dairy Alternatives, and the obligation of all children’s and women’s hospitals to be child-friendly hospitals, in addition to the application of regulations for marketing unhealthy foods and sugary drinks to children, with a framework for monitoring and evaluation. .
And she stated that measures have been taken to reduce the direct and indirect promotion of unhealthy foods, adopt regulatory interventions to control the consumption of unhealthy foods and drinks, such as a tax on goods selected for unhealthy foods, and prepare regulations to reduce the promotion and unexcessive consumption of unhealthy foods.
She called for enhancing behavioral incentives towards unhealthy food choices and enhancing access to healthy food options and their diversity, pointing to stimulating health education directed at various groups of society according to social and economic determinants, with a focus on groups most at risk of unhealthy food, and a focus on youth and women.
Physical activity
The national policy for healthy lifestyles addresses measures to combat lack of physical activity by adopting public health programs in accordance with the best international standards to stimulate healthy physical activity for various groups of society according to social, cultural and economic determinants and in various environments, stressing the development and implementation of national guidelines on health-promoting physical activity.
It touched on the promotion of physical activity, through daily life activities, in cooperation with the concerned sectors, and the inclusion of physical activity in the policies of other relevant sectors to ensure consistency and integration of policies and work plans, as well as behavioral stimulation to make physical activity in its various forms an important part of the daily routine.
She stressed the importance of using the media to raise awareness about the benefits of physical activity and to spread the culture of continuous physical activity.
She stressed the need to make walking, cycling and other forms of mobility based on movement available and safe for all, and to encourage society to abandon some behaviors that are not supportive of women’s participation in sports activities, in order to promote gender equality in this field, and to provide good physical education that supports children’s adoption of sports patterns. behavior that causes them to maintain physical activity throughout their lives.
She explained that among the existing proposals is subjecting procedures aimed at promoting physical activity to monitoring and promoting the practice of physical activity correctly and without the use of harmful substances, as well as monitoring wrong practices in gyms such as the use of nutritional supplements or prohibited substances because of their harm to physical health, and scrutiny On promotional publications for this material in cooperation with the concerned authorities.
She indicated the establishment of an approved sports platform and providing it with health practices and instructions according to approved scientific standards, and allocating sports centers for the various concerned groups to practice physical activities.
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