KUWAIT CITY, March 2: The Public Authority for Food and Nutrition (PAFN) launched the first dietary guidelines in the presence of the Minister of Health Dr. Ahmad Al-Awadhi, and an elite group of specialists in this field. In a press statement on the sidelines of the celebration, Minister Al-Awadhi said Kuwait’s first dietary guidelines are the first of its kind aimed at helping members of society choose healthy food. He stressed the importance of the guidelines in reducing the risks of chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease, indicating that it is the best way to raise societal cultural awareness about healthy foods, and is the beginning of a healthy society in the long term.

The minister explained that the guidebook contains many important nutritional messages for society about balanced and healthy diets that are consistent with the nutritional culture of Kuwaiti society. It reviews the aesthetics of physical activity as the main key to confronting obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases.

He said, “The guide is a primary standard for society, through which we can raise awareness among our children in schools about the priority of food and nutrition and how to follow proper dietary behavior by choosing healthy types of food, as well as raise awareness about the dangers of malnutrition and its association with chronic non-communicable diseases.

Malnutrition and harmful eating habits over the years have led to the spread of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Therefore, these habits must be confronted by educating the community to produce a healthy person in the long term. The guidebook aims to establish the foundations, types, and methods of eating in the school cafeteria, after which it will focus on educating the community”. The minister expressed his pride in placing the guidelines within the state’s development plans and government work program plans to implement it in clinics, hospitals, and primary care to improve the health services provided in the country.

Meanwhile, the Director General of PAFN Dr. Reem Al-Fulaij said the authority led the efforts exerted by many parties in the country, including the Ministry of Health, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait University, and the Dasman Diabetes Institute, given the importance of this issue. She explained that the State of Kuwait suffers from high rates of chronic non-communicable diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, respiratory system diseases, and other chronic diseases that countries make a great effort to spend on, hence the importance of preventing these diseases. Proper nutrition is the most important aspect of prevention, especially since today in the State of Kuwait, with the tremendous development in food industries and consumer systems, the rates of chronic non-communicable diseases are accelerating and rising.

This was the reason why experts in this field gathered to prepare this guidebook. Dr. Al-Fulaij highlighted the importance of the guidelines as it take into account the nutritional needs of citizens and residents, adding that it is the first of other guides that will work to raise societal cultural awareness. She revealed the presence of the guidebook on the website of PAFN, and its distribution to various vital facilities, such as general and specialized hospitals, the private medical sector, schools, and various vital facilities.
By Marwa Al-Bahrawi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff