Urban nutrition crisis creating obesity and non-communicable diseases
Staff Reporter :
In the face of relentless urbanization, the nutrition levels of inhabitants in the urban areas have been severely impacted, leading to a surge in obesity and various non-communicable diseases, discussants said on Tuesday.
They also pointed out that the busy lives of parents have been creating a gap in the dietary habits of children. Parents, struggling to find time to cook homemade meals, often resort to convenient but unhealthy fast food options.
Additionally, in educational institutions peer pressure among children to consume junk food or processed food containing lots of sugar and salts further exacerbates the issue, they observed.
The observation came during a roundtable meeting organized by Dnet with technical support from Nutrition International held in the Dnet conference room in the capital.
M Shahadat Hossain, Co-Founder and Executive Direction of Dnet delivered a welcome speech while Dr Rudaba Khondker, Country Director of GAIN Bangladesh moderated the event and Dr Saiqa Siraj, Country Director of Nutrition International delivered the keynote speech on urban nutrition.
Dr Saiqa Siraj said that the existing laws and policies are not enough to address the urban nutrition and more elaborate and clear guidelines are imperative to address the matter in the coming days.
“Studies reveal that primary healthcare services are insufficient to meet the health needs of the rapidly growing urban population, despite prevailing efforts primarily targeting rural health services,” she said.
“Alarming reports indicate that slum dwellers are gaining weight at an alarming rate due to their reliance on unhygienic roadside ready-made food, which is typically laden with excessive amounts of sugars and salts,” Saiqa said.
Dr Md Khalequzaman, Assistant Professor at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University said, “The economic capacity is on the rise, but at the same time the culture of junk foods are posing threats. Parents, unable to dedicate sufficient time, are compensating their children with fast foods, leading to the compromised health of their children.”
Rowsan Ara Begum, Food Safety Officer of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, said that the problem of food adulteration persist unabated, with those responsible for such activities employing clever tactics to evade the detection and enforcement measures.
“The capital is so concentrated that we don’t find accurate information necessary to apprehend individuals engaged in food adulteration. The widespread distribution of adulterated food products contaminated with industrial chemicals throughout the country is particularly alarming,” she said.
She also expressed her department’s weakness in manpower and other logistic supports, which needs the government proper intervention of the government and other stakeholders.
