Southeast Asia tackles healthy diet, balancing food intake
Southeast Asian cuisine is among the best in the world. What’s not to love about rice, fried foods, and sugary treats? The answer is that many recipes in the region contain high levels of fats, oils, and sugars, which are not typical of a healthy diet.
As a result, the prevalence of diseases caused by poor dietary habits is increasing in Southeast Asia. For example, diabetes, which, according to IDF South-East Asia (SEA) Region data, affected 90 million adults, aged 20 to 79 in the IDF-SEA region in 2021. This figure is expected to rise to 113 million by 2030 and 152 million by 2045.
According to the World Health Federation, unhealthy diets, high blood pressure, and air pollution are among the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in the region, accounting for nearly 17% of all deaths and 28% of CVD-related deaths.
Related: Unhealthy teen eating influenced by certain ultra-processed foods
Furthermore, an unhealthy diet contributes to malnutrition and the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, CVDs, and others; and a lack of physical activity are major global health risks, according to WHO.
Because the immune system is the main line of defense against newly emerging infections, it is crucial to maintain a healthy diet.
Creating a unified definition of a healthy diet
WHO published a draft guideline on fiscal policies to promote healthy diets in December 2022. This guideline assists Member States in creating food environments conducive to healthy diets and improved nutrition in order to reduce diet related NCDs.
IDF with 16 organisations working in the NCD segment, including the NCD Alliance, The George Institute for Global Health, World Cancer Research Fund International, World Obesity Federation, Africa NCDs Network, Cameroon Civil Society NCD Alliance, Cancer Research UK, Ghana NCD Alliance, Healthy Caribbean Coalition, Healthy India Alliance, HRIDAY, International Association for Dental Research, Norwegian Cancer Society, Reconciliation and Development Association, Resolve to Save Lives and Walé Action Santé Population) submitted a joint response.
The terms healthy diet, sugar-sweetened beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, and subsidy are expected to be defined in the document. According to proponents of the guidelines, the term “healthy diet” is currently used both positively and negatively, and this should be clarified, that is, what constitutes a healthy diet and what does not.
According to the report, the document would gain from having a consolidated definition of this term, e.g. a healthy diet should be rich in needed nutrients and ingredients (such as fiber, potassium, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and also healthy sources of protein) and that foods and beverages high in undesired nutrients (such as trans-fats, saturated fats, free sugars, and salt), often ultra-processed and/or energy-dense, are inconsistent with a healthy diet.
It is crucial to recognize that the evidence for healthy eating patterns tends to favor Western diets, and that a definition of a “healthy diet” should aim to encompass all global eating patterns while taking into account the importance of cultural or religious foods as well as social and cultural food safety. The guideline will also tackle sugar-sweetened beverages as well as non-alcoholic beverages.
Tips for balance food intakes
Similarly, WHO has provided a few pointers for maintaining healthy diets and healthy food intake. By 2025, WHO Member States have committed to reducing global salt consumption by 30%, halting the rise in diabetes and obesity in adults and adolescents as well as childhood obesity.
Calorie intake and expenditure need to balance each other out. To avoid unhealthy weight gain, total fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake. Saturated fat consumption should not exceed 10% of total energy intake, and trans fat consumption should not exceed 1% of total energy consumption.
Limit free sugar intake. WHO suggested to limiting free sugar to less than 10% of total energy intake. For additional health benefits, a further reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake is suggested.
Limit salt consumption to less than 5 g per day. This helps to prevent hypertension and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in adults.
Breastfeed your children. Early adoption of a healthy diet encourages normal growth and cognitive development and may have long-term health advantages, such as reducing the risk of adulthood obesity and NCD development.
SOURCES:
.https://www.idf.org/our-network/regions-members/south-east-asia/diabetes-in-sea.html
.https://world-heart-federation.org/where-we-work/south-east-asia/
.https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet
.https://www.idf.org/news/296:idf-co-signs-comments-to-who-guideline-on-fiscal-policies-to-promote-healthy-diets.html
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