By Fazeena Saleem
Eating a variety of healthy choices from the six food groups is one of the simple recommendations in ‘Qatar Dietary Guidelines’, which was launched recently to address the problem of obesity and other lifestyle diseases in the country.
The guidelines launched by the Supreme Council of Health (SCH), provide tips on how to eat and live healthy. Most of the guidelines are familiar, but it is imperative to make people understand the need to live healthy.
In a recent study, about 76 percent of the men and 70 percent of the women were found to be overweight or obese, while 52.7 percent of the male and 31.7 percent of the female participants were found to be pre-hypertensive (with normal high blood pressure levels) or hypertensive.
The study involved a cross section of Qataris and long-time expatriates in the country.
The report said that 80 percent of the sample population reported no moderate physical activity in a week, 67 percent reported walking less than two hours a week for leisure, while about 55 percent reported working in an office-based environment, which leads to inactivity.
The study found that most people spent the better part of their day watching TV or using computers, and few reported having changed their diet to lose weight.
The number of bariatric or weight-loss surgeries conducted for individuals with severe obesity is increasing every year in Qatar, according to Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).
More than 900 bariatric surgeries, the majority of them on women, were conducted annually in the last two years. The figure has jumped from about 400 a few years ago.
Following the Qatar Dietary Guidelines will help people stay healthy and strong, maintain a healthy weight and reduce their risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and osteoporosis.
The guidelines outline the types of food to eat as a foundation every day, and the types of foods to limit or avoid. The ‘plate’ design gives guidance on how much of different foods one should eat.
The booklet tells people to eat three to five servings of a variety of vegetables every day, and choose vegetables prepared with little or no added fat or salt. It recommends eating two to four servings of fruits a day, and including cereals and starchy vegetables, legumes, milk, dairy products and alternatives in a balanced diet.
A variety of fish should be included in the diet at least twice a week; poultry should be skinless, processed meat should be avoided, and legumes, nuts and seeds should be consumed as alternative sources of protein.
To avoid problems associated with too much refined carbohydrate, it is important to choose whole grains such as whole wheat flour, jareesh, whole wheat pasta or oatmeal, rather than refined cereals such as white bread, white rice and regular pasta.
Focusing on healthy eating and physical activity every day instead of looking to diets for health and weight loss is healthier, more enjoyable, and likely to bring more lasting benefits.
The guidelines advise adopting safe and clean food preparation methods, breastfeeding babies, keeping regular hours for meals and being a role model for children when it comes to healthy eating and physical activity.
The guidelines, a crucial part of the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Action Plan 2011-2016, identify the basic food items that have to be eaten on a daily basis as well as the items that have to be reduced as much as possible or avoided.
“The guidelines are introduced in response to the growing challenges raised by obesity and associated diseases. The project aimed to reduce obesity and overweight, increase physical activity, increase the number of individuals who eat five servings of fruits and vegetables, reduce the prevalence of high blood pressure and cholesterol, raise awareness about the importance of healthy eating and physical activity and improve the nutrition system at the individual and society levels,” said Dr Salih Al Marri, SCH’s Assistant Secretary General for Medical Affairs.
The Peninsula
