New Delhi, September 18 (IANS). In today’s fast-paced life, people are struggling with diseases like obesity, diabetes and cancer. Keeping in mind the increase in the number of patients suffering from these diseases, the World Health Organization (WHO) has now called upon all countries to make policies to promote balanced diet and physical exercise.
World Health Organization (South-East Asia) Regional Director Saima Wazed said, “There is a steady increase in the number of patients suffering from increasing weight, obesity and metabolic disorders. These diseases are affecting both children and adults on a large scale, keeping this in mind, this step has now been taken by WHO.”
He said that cases of non-communicable diseases are on the rise. This includes serious diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The worrying thing is that these diseases are responsible for two-thirds of the deaths.
Leaving aside the youth, around 50 lakh children below the age of 5 years are suffering from obesity, out of which 3 lakh 73 thousand children are those whose age is between 5 to 19 years.
Currently, the region is facing rapid demographic change, urbanization, economic development and unbalanced diet. This has also affected the lifestyle of many people. About 74 percent of adolescents and 50 percent of youth are not physically active.
Obesity has now become such a serious problem that if it continues to grow like this, we will not be able to achieve the goal of sustainable development by 2030. Its main objective is to prevent premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by 2030 and promote mental health.
“Balanced diet and regular physical activity are fundamental needs towards achieving this goal,” the Regional Director further added.
He further added, “Apart from knowledge and behaviour change, environment also helps us in making healthy choices.”
Wazed also called for strong regulatory frameworks and policies to create healthy food environments at home, schools and other places. Fiscal policies should also encourage healthy diets, he said.
“Many countries have already made significant progress by enforcing food labelling regulations, banning trans fats in food and taxing sugar-sweetened beverages, but we need to take many more steps to achieve a healthier society,” he said.
–IANS
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