DOHA: The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) has launched a campaign to fight the prevalence of obesity in Qatar, considered one of the highest in the world, by promoting healthy eating habits among citizens and expatriates.
The ‘Choose healthy eating habits’ campaign follows the recent issuance of Qatar Dietary Guidelines by SCH and will focus on the importance of a balanced diet and harmful effects of junk food.
Sedentary lifestyles in Qatar have been mainly attributed to the abundant use of cars, dependence on maids for home management, spending a long time watching television and using the Internet, particularly by children, teenagers, and young people.
There has been a drastic change in food consumption patterns in Qatar and the region. For example, the total per capita energy intake exceeds 3000kcal in Arab Gulf countries, and the fat represents 25-35 percent of total energy, says an article on dietary guidelines in the latest edition SCH’s Qatar Health magazine.
Although Qatar enjoys a sunny environment all year long, vitamin D deficiency is one of the main public health problems. Studies in Qatar revealed that 69 percent of children under 16 had vitamin D deficiency.
The new initiative is part of a awareness campaign launched by SCH last month under the theme ‘Our future lies in our health’ to encourage all segments of society to follow a healthy lifestyle and abandon harmful daily habits, SCH said yesterday. The campaign will feature awareness messages, activities and events to highlight the importance of healthy eating, a balanced dietary system on a daily basis and the role of these foods in the overall physical health and immunity to illnesses.
“The campaign aims to reduce obesity, attract consumers towards healthy and organic foods, raise awareness about harmful effects of junk food and highlight the importance of proper nutrition and balanced dietary system in our daily lives,” said the SCH.
In a related initiative, state-backed entity Qatar Leadership Centre (QLC) has launched an online survey among parents to assess the level of physical activity among schoolchildren. The survey, ‘Physical Education for Schoolchildren in Qatar’ will enquire about ways to develop physical education activities in schools and use them to reduce the rate of obesity among school students, Qatar News Agency reports.
Abdullah Fakhro, a member of the research team, called on parents to participate in the survey and provide a clear picture of the status quo to help take appropriate decisions.
The survey tries to measure, through a limited number of questions, parents’ awareness of the importance of children’s practice of sport activities in and outside the school and students’ use of electronic devices such as television electronic games.
Parents can participate in the survey through https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MZBSNX5.
The Peninsula
