Almost one-third of UAE children aged 5-17 are overweight or obese and are at risk of developing diabetes, the council said ahead of hosting an international conference on applied nutrition later this week to discuss issues caused by poor dietary habits.
The conference will analyse some of the most successful international initiatives taken in schools and communities to promote a healthy food culture.
“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 Al Awadhi, an official in the municipality’s environment, health and safety control section.
“We also have another risk in the form of unhealthy food choices where in 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.
The recommendations from the conference will help shape regulations for the local market, Jehaina Hassan Al Ali, principal food studies and surveys officer at the department, told Gulf News.
Dubai’s Vision 2021 social strategy has outlined the importance of preventing obesity and seeks to reduce lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Meanwhile, the director general of the municipality has opened the emirate’s second “Grow your own Food” initiative to encourage residents to grow their own vegetables and fruit on home balconies and terraces.
Hussain Nasser Lootah said the campaign aims to raise public awareness of the importance of farming at a time of troubling regional food insecurity.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations will also take part in Dubai’s campaign this year, which it said was in line with its sustainable development goals.
Nabil Gangi, the FAO’s deputy regional representative, said that the initiative would encourage people to contribute to food security in creative ways that also preserve the environment.
“FAO hopes that other regional countries will follow suit and compete for achieving food security,” Gangi said.