DUBAI // Four out of 10 of pregnant Emirati women are risking the health of their unborn babies by not eating the proper foods, according to the UAE's first comprehensive nutrition strategy.
The plan revealed 41 per cent of pregnant Emiratis to be deficient in folic acid, a nutrient essential to preventing miscarriages and birth defects.
The five-year strategy, which is also designed to tackle the worsening obesity epidemic, was drawn up by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO). It includes strong criticism of previous attempts to tackle poor nutrition and it cites weak surveillance and monitoring and a lack of co-ordination between authorities. It also highlighted a deficiency of basic knowledge about health, particularly among school and university students.
It added that "schools with the support of the Ministry of Education have failed to develop clear nutrition policies".
According to the draft report, six out of 10 children aged between five and 14 eat chips and chocolate every day, and only three out of 10 have a daily portion of vegetables.
Anaemia was present in a third of preschool children and suffered by one in four pregnant women, the figures showed.
Dr Mahmoud Fikri, the executive director of health policies at the ministry, said the strategy would create a comprehensive plan to guide all the emirates in the same direction. The ministry would set up an independent unit to better co-ordinate "all efforts in the country", he said. "A change in eating habits, replacing the traditional diet, which is more nutritious, with fast food ... this reflects a lack of knowledge of a healthy diet."
He also referred to "inadequate manpower" and a lack of policies guiding the "planning, implementation and monitoring" of nutrition programmes.
The strategy's objectives include reducing iron and vitamin D deficiencies, as well as obesity rates.
The plan's officials also reported that more than half of married residents are obese. "The tendency of the population to develop obesity after marriage is very visible," they stated.
More than half of adult women lead sedentary lives; another 18 per cent are "relatively inactive", the strategy's findings noted.
Almost seven out of 10 girls younger than 15 are either sedentary or relatively inactive. The figures are slightly better for boys, with half being relatively active or highly active.
Poor school canteens were also to blame, officials said. No representative from the Ministry of Education or a local education authority was present at the launch of the draft strategy yesterday.
One of the main hurdles to better nutrition is the lack of infrastructure to support a change in lifestyle, particularly in children.
There are relatively few indoor sports centres, and many of the food courts in malls are dominated by fast-food restaurants.
"These food restaurants are in every city in the world," Dr Fikri said. "But the issue here is the non-communicable diseases, and these are related to the behaviour of the individual. Unless you change the beliefs of individuals, you cannot change behaviours."
It would be impossible to change the prognosis without changing the behaviours, he said.
Dr Salah al Badawi, an official with the strategy and policy department at the Ministry of Health, admitted that without the proper infrastructure the plans would fail.
"If it isn't there, this will all be in vain," he said. "In order to have an effective intervention, you have to have a supportive environment."
He said it was important that all agencies put the strategy into practice. No one from the ministry would clarify who would be responsible for the different elements.
A draft plan of action for the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office released in December said the consequences of nutritional disorders in the Middle East were "too grave to be ignored". It put the UAE among "countries in advanced nutrition stage" with high levels of obesity and moderate under-nutrition and vitamin deficiencies.
munderwood@thenational.ae
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
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69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
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- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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Four-day collections of TOH
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2019 Asian Cup final
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
