Dubai conference to tackle child obesity

Dubai - The Food Safety Department is looking to adopt best practices to deliver healthier options that would prevent diseases caused by wrong diet and lifestyle options.

The Dubai Municipality is looking to introduce regulations and policies to reduce obesity and chronic diseases in the country.
To achieve that, the civic body announced on Monday it will be organising the First Dubai International Conference on Applied Nutrition to bring global health organisations and experts to help find solutions for child obesity, diabetes and chronic diseases
The Food Safety Department is looking to adopt best practices to deliver healthier options that would prevent diseases caused by wrong diet and lifestyle options.
"As we all know, there is a tremendous increase in diet-related chronic diseases in Dubai and the region, largely linked to excessive or unbalanced intake of certain types of food and sedentary lifestyle," said Khalid Mohammed Sharif, assistant director-general of Dubai Municipality for Environment, Health and Safety Control Sector.
"We have another risk in the form of unhealthy food choices where people are consuming excess of certain foods that are high in calories or have ingredients that shouldn't be consumed in large quantities such as salt, saturated fat and sugar," he said.
Child obesity will be the focus of the conference, which will take place on November 7-8 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in line with the UAE national agenda that focuses on reducing obesity by 2021.
Obesity affects 33 per cent of the UAE's children in the age group of 5-17, a case that can lead to diabetes, which already affects 19 per cent of UAE population.
"It is a worldwide problem that we need to address," said Juhaina Hassan Al Ali, Principal Food Study and Survey Officer.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com