As part of the fight against childhood obesity in the United Arab Emirates, fast food establishments may be at risk.
The Committee on the fight against childhood obesity has set itself an ambitious task - to reduce the average body weight of children by 15 percent while increasing physical activity in the same ratio by 2020.
This task was voiced at the forum on obesity in Abu Dhabi, at this event, international experts shared the latest results and success stories in the fight against what became a global epidemic.
The UAE predicts a more than twofold increase in health care costs: the equivalent of up to 47.5 billion US by 2040, as obesity increases the risk of human infection with noncommunicable diseases.
"If all stakeholders do not take joint measures at the institutional level to put an end to the spread of this problem and not learn how to control it, then the percentage of people with obesity will only grow," said Sheikh Abdullah ibn Mohammed Al Hamed, head of the Abu Health Department Dhabi.
As one of the possible options, the restriction on the opening of fast food restaurants near schools is considered, this practice has successfully proven itself in the UK.
Further restrictions may apply to the advertising of harmful food for children, and manufacturers may also require the use of signal marking of the composition of food products, when red color means products with a high content of fat, salt and sugar.
A two-day forum will be held at Sofitel in Cornish in Abu Dhabi, with more than 300 delegates from 12 government agencies and nine private organizations participating.
"To deal with this problem, we are considering both the UK plan and the measures proposed by the USA, we can combine the approaches of the two countries in order to develop the most optimal strategy," said Omniat Al Hajery, head of the public health department at the Department of Health at Abu Dhabi.
“We will identify specific key performance indicators to track progress in the fight against childhood obesity. We can learn from our foreign colleagues the experience of working with measurable indicators to combat this problem. We recognize that obesity is a social problem, and not just a health problem, therefore, there can be no question of full assistance to children without public intervention. "
