Pregnant mothers' poor eating risks babies' health

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