Picture Source: The Heart Foundation
Overweight and obesity are one of the global public health challenges and are identified as risk factors for several non-communicable diseases such as chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. They were once considered a problem only in high-income countries, overweight and obesity are now on the rise in low-and middle-income countries.
Low and middle-income countries are currently experiencing a double burden of disease as they continue to face the problems of under-nutrition and infectious diseases. They are facing a rapid rise in risk factors of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and overweight, particularly in children.
Surprisingly, undernutrition and obesity exist side by side in low- and middle-income countries. The increasing prevalence is thought to be caused by consumption of high energy-dense foods and a lack of physical activity.
Evidence suggests that the tendency for overweight and obesity begins as early as six months of age. Â For this reason, children may be the most appropriate target group for intervention.
The WHO developed the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. The WHO initiative is a prevention-based strategy that aims to significantly reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and their common risk factors.
Nutritional policy document was developed in response to global poverty, hunger, malnutrition, and to promote healthy eating. It addressed issues on dietary components, food labelling, marketing and taxation. Fortification programmes were intensified in LMICs where malnutrition was endemic coupled with the current prevalence of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases.
The success of tobacco control policy made it necessary to replicate the same approach to nutrition. However, tobacco control and nutritional strategies differ in many ways. For example, the complex nature of understanding behaviour and food choices makes it difficult for control.
Furthermore, there is no clear definition of healthy foods and even diets considered healthy can be harmful to health if not eaten in the right proportion.
Nonetheless, Nutritional policy has a crucial role to play in the fight against obesity and policies targeted at the drivers of obesity may prove to be effective.
To modify behaviour, health education backed by theory as suggested by research is the most influential and can prevent unhealthy behaviours from re-occurring. Therefore, interventions need to focus on health promotion to help individual’s make healthy dietary choices through behaviour change.