Health Talk | Why governments need to strengthen policies to promote healthy diets

While choices are important, what is also crucial is strong regulatory frameworks to create healthier food environments at home, school, and digital spaces

The World Health Organization has called on countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region— a total of 11 countries including India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand — to strengthen policies to promote healthy diets and physical activity to combat the rising levels of overweight, obesity, and non-communicable (NCDs) diseases that have become a leading cause of deaths in this region.

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“The burden of overweight, obesity, and associated metabolic disorders has been steadily rising in the WHO South-East Asia Region, affecting both children and adults. These trends have fueled a surge in non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, which are now responsible for nearly two-thirds of all deaths in our region” said Saima Wazed, regional director, WHO South-East Asia.

Wazed was speaking at the inauguration of a regional meeting to ‘Promote healthy diets and food environments, and physical activity through policies and enabling environments.’

The governments have started focusing on drafting policies that will help people opt for a healthy lifestyle, including introducing food labelling regulations, banning trans fats in food, and implementing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages.

Why has ‘healthy lifestyle’ suddenly become a buzzword? The answer lies in certain dreadful figures.

According to WHO, an estimated five million children under the age of five are overweight, and 37.3 million children between the ages of five to 19 are also affected in the WHO South-East Asia Region.

The region is experiencing rapid demographic transition with rapid urbanization, and economic growth further driving unhealthy diets, reduced physical activity, and more sedentary lifestyles. Nearly 74% of adolescents and 50% of adults are not physically active enough.

Obesity and NCDs are major challenges to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which seeks to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one-third by 2030 through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.

“Healthy diets and regular physical activity are fundamental to achieving this target. However, this requires more than knowledge and behaviour change — it calls for creating enabling environments that support and encourage healthier choices,” said the regional director during her speech, and cannot be stressed enough in general.

While individual choices are important, what is also crucial is strong regulatory frameworks and policies to create healthier food environments at home, school, retail, and digital spaces, as well as safe recreational areas and walkways, especially in urban settings. Wazed is right when she says that fiscal policies should also incentivise healthy diets.

To address these challenges, WHO has outlined evidence-based 'best buy' recommendations, which include implementing regulations in schools and workplaces to reduce unhealthy diets, promoting community initiatives, and ensuring access to healthy food options and opportunities for physical activity, particularly for disadvantaged groups. WHO's Global Action Plan for Physical Activity provides additional guidance for making populations and societies more active, while recognizing the cultural constraints that often limit participation, especially for girls and women.

India’s food safety regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has also been at the forefront of ensuring requisite changes are made in the food ecosystem to help people make healthy lifestyle changes.

“People are increasingly becoming aware; they know how consuming food in high fat and sugar is impacting their health, and they want to switch to a healthier lifestyle. That’s the feedback that our experts get and that is enough to tell us that we are going in the right direction,” said a senior expert with the food regulator.

The change may not happen overnight, but the right steps have been taken.

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