Asia Roundtable on Food Innovation for Improved Nutrition (ARoFIIN), together with the Health Promotion Board (HPB) and Save the Children, hosted a roundtable dialogue that gathered stakeholders from academia, civil society, industry and government, to address how various sectors can collaborate on initiatives that drive nutrition literacy, to build a supportive environment that promotes healthy lifestyles among children in Asia.
Speaking with the Asia Roundtable on Food Innovation for Improved Nutrition (ARoFIIN), Dr Feisul Idzwan Mustapha, public health physician with the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, shared about government plans to encourage healthy lifestyles in Malaysia, and the importance of partnership in effecting behaviour change among consumers.
As part of efforts to tackle obesity in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ARoFIIN hosted a series of in-country workshops in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines last year, gathering multi-sectoral experts who identified localised, country-specific interventions that focused on nutrition education to children.
Thailand faces the second highest obesity prevalence rate in Southeast Asia at 8.5 per cent, while cardiovascular diseases and stroke were identified as the leading causes of death by 2011 in the country. A three-pronged approach that aims to communicate key nutrition messages to children as part of their school curriculum, alongside modification of the food and physical activity environments to improve the health status in Thailand, has been proposed.
It is no surprise that many people are fond of sugar and sweet foods. We’ve been accustomed to having sweet treats as an incentive, or for celebratory occasions in most parts of the world.
Collaborations among multiple stakeholders across government, industry, academia and civil society sectors continues to be crucial in delivering programmes to improve nutrition and encourage healthier lifestyles in order to tackle obesity, one of the biggest public healthcare challenges of our time.
In an effort to tackle the growing burden of malnutrition around the region, the Asia Roundtable on Food Innovation for Improved Nutrition (ARoFIIN) brought together experts from government, academia, civil society and industry, for a dialogue session on Partnerships to Promote Healthy Eating and Active Lifestyle in Asia – held in partnership with the Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development 2017 in Singapore.
To invest in a better future, in which all forms of malnutrition are addressed, all stakeholders across multiple sectors must come to the table: by stepping out of their comfort zones to bring about change, focusing on concrete impact while building trust and creating win-win solutions, and ensuring usage of an inclusive and transparent data system, said Ms Gerda Verburg, Assistant Secretary-General at the United Nations, and Coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement.
To address the public healthcare burden of obesity, a paradigm shift in focus and strategies is needed, says Mr Matt Kovac, Food Industry Asia’s Executive Director. This includes more attention being placed on preventive measures, better education on healthy nutrition that leads to positive behaviour change, as well as multi-stakeholder partnerships and knowledge exchange.
The inaugural EAT Asia-Pacific Food Forum brought together leading stakeholders from government, industry, academia and civil society to assess the state of food systems, and discuss both innovative and sustainable solutions to improve food security, sustainable use of natural resources, and health and nutrition among populations in Asia.
On the occasion of World Obesity Day on 11 October 2017, ARoFIIN convener Food Industry Asia (FIA) reflects on the growing public health issue of obesity, and how partnerships between the public and private sectors can deliver successful outcomes to deal with the problem.
The Philippines battles a double burden of malnutrition – while obesity and overweight affect 18 million Filipinos and costs between four per cent and eight per cent of national healthcare spending, an estimated seven million children in the country still face hunger and under-nutrition. Consumer education, dietary and physical activity interventions among schoolchildren, and public-private partnerships are critical in addressing these challenges, says Dr Mario V. Capanzana.
