Eat and live healthy
WEDNESDAY’S edition of The Fiji Times quoted President Jioji Konrote saying that parents need to feed their children with what he called “healthy food for a healthy nation”.
Mr Konrote, who was in Labasa to launch a backyard gardening program, went on to encourage families to start growing their own food and depend less on those from supermarket shelves.
“Let’s grow our own, eat healthy food and get away from eating processed food,” he said.
“I have nothing against fast food but if we want a healthy nation, then let’s stay healthy.”
The president’s comments came in time for the celebration of World Food Day, celebrated on October 16 throughout the world.
Every year, the collective action by countries across the globe is what makes World Food Day one of the most celebrated and popular days of the UN calendar.
It is a day when hundreds of outreach activities bring together governments, businesses, NGOs, the media, and general public to promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and calls for the need to ensure healthy diets for all.
One day before WFD, UNICEF warned in a new report about the alarming high number of children who are suffering the consequences of “poor diets and a food system that is failing them”.
Titled
The State of the World’s Children
2019: Children, food and nutrition, the UNICEF report said at least “one in three children under five years (or over 200 million)” is either undernourished or overweight.
Almost two in three children between six months and two years of age are not fed food that supports their rapidly growing bodies and brains, the report noted.
The findings indicate that parents need to show more responsibility in demonstrating healthy attitude toward food and eating practices.
Parents also need to teach their children about the importance of making healthy food choices and the negative consequences of living on an unhealthy diet.
In a media statement, UNICEF Pacific representative, Sheldon Yett, said: “More children and young people are surviving, but far too few are thriving. Nutritious foods are important at every stage of a child’s life”.
“Many children in the Pacific Islands are eating inadequate amounts of healthy foods while consuming too many processed foods. We must work together to ensure that children’s diets are nutritious, safe, affordable and sustainable.”
The alarming progression of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Fiji has been attributed to, among other reasons, unhealthy food choices and poor eating habits. Health authorities have warned the prevalence of NCDs will get worse by 2030.
Fiji’s National Health adviser for NCDs, Dr Isimeli Tukana this week revealed that the trend of Fijians dying before the age of 70 has been happening since 1995, adding that many were now dying at 40.
It is encouraging to see and hear people like Dr Tukana, people who are passionate about their work and concerned about the common good.
This week’s UNICEF report further noted that the greatest burden of malnutrition in all its forms was shouldered by children and adolescents from the poorest and most marginalised communities.
It said climate-related disasters caused severe food crises which could lead to losses in agriculture, dramatically altering what food is available to children and families, as well as the quality and price of food.
Meanwhile, in Italy this week, UN agency heads converged at the global World Food Day ceremony held at the FAO headquarters in Rome to discuss issues around food, agriculture and sustainable development.
Other events held in Rome included the launch of FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture in the World report and the inauguration of the exhibit “The market for a Zero Hunger world”.
In Spain, FAO partnered with JCDecaux SA, the largest outdoor advertiser in the world to promote the campaign “World Food Day – Healthy Diets”.
In the run-up to World Food Day, JCDecaux Barcelona had been promoting the campaign in the city since October 7. Celebrations will end on October 21.
I did not see any major WFD celebration around me. This somehow contrasted with the spirit with which it used to be commemorated when I was growing up in the 1980s.
While we often talk about health among children and youth, an area we seldom touch is the health of our senior citizens.
It was encouraging to note in the media talks of promoting a healthy ageing population as a means of reducing the high costs of maintaining and caring for the sick elderly.
Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete, who attended the Asia Pacific Rim Universities Conference on Health and Care for the ageing held in Japan this week, said our rapid aging population, which is expected to double in 20 years, was major concern.
“Often there is a growing deterioration of health amongst the elderly population and people are subjected to chronic diseases therefore it becomes absolutely necessary to work proactively and have the mechanisms in place to counter such issues,” Dr Waqainabete said.
I guess then, when we talk about something as essential as food, we need to talk about all sectors of the community, especially the disadvantaged and vulnerable among us.
Food is not a straight forward topic. It is a cross-cutting issue and encompasses a lot of things.
Therefore, World Food Day, because of the very fact that it is centred on food, is intertwined and interconnected with other equally important issues such as health, poverty, economic and sustainable development, climate change, education, security, human rights and gender equality.
And while this week’s WFD is the perfect time to remind about the importance of eating and living healthy in the face of abundance, it is also an opportune moment to reflect on the struggles many of those around us are going through because of hunger and poverty.
It is also a good time to discuss climate change, conflicts, corruption and unsustainable development as these are some factors than can affect our access to food and enjoyment of life, should they continue to worsen in the future.