DUBAI: The Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality will soon begin to apply the updated nutrition guidelines for schools to curb child obesity and promote healthy eating.
As part of the implementation of the new guidelines, Dubai Municipality has already begun a series of meetings with its strategic partners, starting with the concerned government entities. The meetings also discussed areas for improvement and developed solutions to obstacles that may hinder the progress of the work.
“Applying the new nutrition guidelines is part of our contribution to the implementation of the national agenda, which has put clear goals for dealing with child nutrition,” said Noura Abdulla Al Shamsi, Head of Permits and Applied Nutrition Section.
She said childhood obesity is one of the most important challenges related to public health in the 21st century, with the increasing prevalence of this phenomenon becoming a cause of worry over the last two decades.
“Recent studies have indicated that more than 34 per cent of children in the UAE suffer from either obesity or being overweight.
These studies anticipate school children suffering from obesity will continue with that through their adulthood.
Obesity is attributed largely to the lifestyle in the country and choosing of foods high in calories and low nutritional value with easy access to them and poor nutritional culture,” Al Shamsi added.
– By Sheena Amos