Hyderabad : Diet related non-communicable diseases are on rise in Pakistan. Pakistan is facing a health crisis, with 33 million diabetics and another 10 million on the brink of the disease, as reported by the
International Diabetes Federation. Obesity is surging, hypertension is rampant, and these preventable conditions are becoming part of everyday life. Unhealthy diet is among the major risk factor of these diseases. We demand the government on this food safety day to take policy actions to reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods like Ultra-processed food and beverage products. This was said by health experts in a session organized by Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) at Hyderabad press club on World Food Safety Day. Those who participated in the session include professor Abdul Hafeez Abro from Jamshoro University, Professor Dr.bArshad Hussain and professor Dr. Ahmed Hussain Pathan from Liaqat University of Medical and Health sciences, and representatives of electronic and print media. Secretary general of PANAH Mr. Sanaullah Ghumman hosted the event.
It was discussed that unhealthy foods specially Ultra-processed food and beverage products are among the major cause of these diseases. These are often very high in nutrients of concern i.e. sugar, sodium and / or trans-fats. A 250 ml glass of sugary drinks contains 7 to 8 teaspoons of sugar. Some evident based policy actions to reduce the consumption of these unhealthy foods are increasing taxes on these products, enactment of mandatory front of package warning labels, marketing restrictions and ban on sale of these products near educational institutions. On this world food safety day, we demand the government to take these policy actions to reduce the consumption of these unhealthy products.