Control sale of unhealthy food

This writer refer to the report "Cabinet panel to fight lifestyle diseases set up" (NST, Oct 7).

The announcement by Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai to bring down the number of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 15 per cent in the next 10 years is a welcome one. Liow said his ministry was working with nine other ministries as part of a cabinet committee to realise this target.

This is vital as the overall annual death toll from NCDs is estimated at 36 million worldwide.

Unless addressed, fatalities from NCDs are expected to increase by 17 per cent between 2008 and 2018.

Recent statistics reveal that 60 per cent of premature deaths (below 60 years) are caused by NCDs such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases.

However, Liow missed out one very important element when he said the United Nations' recent high-level meeting on NCDs in New York, where I was invited to speak as a civil society representative, had suggested four measures to achieve this.

The four measures he mentioned were practising a healthy diet, regular physical activities, avoidance of smoking and non-consumption of alcohol.

The one he missed out was the marketing of unhealthy food high in fat, sugar and salt.

The UN meeting had called for the implementation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations on the marketing of food and non-alcoholic beverages to children, including those high in saturated fat, trans-fatty acids, sugar and salt.

This includes discouraging the production and marketing of food that contribute to unhealthy diets.

It called upon the private sector to promote more food products consistent with healthy diets that are affordable and accessible.

What was disappointing about the outcome of the UN meeting was the absence of time-bound goals or targets to eliminate trans-fat in food and to discourage the production and marketing of unhealthy foods.

This is where governments should play their role.

The marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverages to children should be addressed immediately.

Consumers International (CI) is very concerned about this and has collaborated with WHO and published a manual designed to support governments and civil society to monitor the marketing of food to children.

This is especially crucial as recent studies revealed that one out of four children in Malaysia is either overweight or obese, while one out of three teenagers is overweight and one out of six is obese.

Malaysia is also number six in the obesity rankings in Southeast Asia.

Earning a spot on the "World Map of Obesity" is not something to be proud of.

Any policies or laws proposed by the government to address this issue should be free from interference by the private sector as they are part of the problem.

CI, along with nearly 150 other organisations, has signed up to a statement of concern by the Conflicts of Interest Coalition in calling for the establishment of a code of conduct to govern civil society engagement, in which the process of policy development is protected from the influence of the for-profit sector.

CI supports the development of a "code of conduct" framework which will guide "interactions" rather than "partnerships" with the private sector in addressing the prevention of NCDs.

For the private sector to be part of the solution, it must stop producing and marketing harmful food products, which are often overlooked in favour of corporate-sponsored education programmes.

We have to act and we have to do it now. In the words of WHO director-general Dr Margaret Chan, "Countries cannot treat their way out of NCDs. Prevention is crucial."

Source: DATUK INDRANI THURAISINGHAM,
Head,
Consumers International Office for Asia Pacific &
the Middle East Kuala Lumpur
letters@nst.com.my