20% sugar cut in food products proposed
FRONT-OF-PACK LABELLING FOR PRE-PACKAGED FOODS IS ANOTHER MEASURE BEING CONSIDERED TO REDUCE OBESITY IN THE COUNTRY
Amid mounting concerns about childhood obesity, which affects one in every three schoolchildren in the UAE, regulators have begun looking into measures that would encourage food producers to reduce the sugar content of their products by 20 per cent.
Front-of-pack labelling for pre-packaged foods and a ban on advertisement of junk foods to children are also under discussion to help reduce the prevalence of obesity among children in the UAE, which currently stands at double the global prevalence, said Dr Jamal Al Mutawa, manager for community health and surveillance at the Abu Dhabi Department of Health.
“Our records show that the proportion of children carrying excess weight in Abu Dhabi emirate continues to increase through the grades, reaching up to nearly 40 per cent of children enrolled in Grade 8 in 2015. Such an obesity epidemic can only be controlled by resolute multi-sectoral interventions,” Dr Al Mutawa said yesterday at the Gulf Obesity Summit and Regional Congress 2018 in the capital.
“We are in talks with multiple stakeholders, and the hope is that these measures will be adopted at the federal level,” he added.
To curb the spread of obesity in the UAE, health regulators are currently discussing the implementation of front-of-pack labelling for prepackaged foods, as well as a 20 per cent cut in the sugar content of food products.
The initiatives are part of a 12-point strategy developed by the Abu Dhabi Department of Health (DoH) to combat childhood obesity, and the hope is that the measures will be adopted across the country, Dr Jamal Al Mutawa, manager for community health and surveillance at the department, told Gulf News in the capital yesterday.
“Our records showed a concerning
increase in childhood obesity in the emirate of Abu Dhabi between 2010 and 2015. In fact, the proportion of children carrying excess weight increases steadily through the grades, with up to nearly 40 per cent of all children enrolled in Grade 8 being overweight or obese. This is why a task force was launched in 2016 to look for solutions against obesity,” Dr Al Mutawa said.
“Internationally, we have seen the effectiveness of frontof-pack labelling towards helping people make healthier food choices, and know that it would also be helpful to reduce the sugar content of food products. While such regulations may take a while to be refined and implemented, the important thing is that the discussion has begun,” he added.
The DoH’s strategy also includes targets like ensuring that children get at least an hour of physical activity every day, and measures to prevent the marketing of unhealthy foods among young people.
Dr Al Mutawa was speaking on the sidelines of the Gulf Obesity Summit and Regional Congress 2018, a two-day meeting in which health professionals and regulators are sharing their experiences, with the aim of reducing the prevalence of obesity in the region.
Crisis proportions
Experts at the conference highlighted that the obesity epidemic has reached crisis proportions in many countries. More than 381 million children around the world are known to be either overweight or obese. In the UAE, one in every three schoolchildren is either overweight or obese.
Explaining the measures discussed by the DoH, Dr Al Mutawa said the initiative to decrease sugar content in food products would reduce added sugar. “The plan is to have food producers gradually reduce sugar content over a period of four years after implementation. In the UAE, we have already seen taxes implemented on sugary drinks last year, and a decrease in sugar in other foods would further complement these taxes in helping people consume healthier foods,” he said.
On the other hand, frontof-pack labelling would help consumers make healthier food choices. “These front-of-pack labels provide quick information on how healthy a product is, and are recommended by the World Health Organisation as effective measures to encourage healthier food choices,” Dr Al Mutawa said. For instance, the UK uses a traffic light labelling scheme, with a green light indicating that an item is a healthy choice.