Govt mulls integrated rule for nutrition intervention
Friday, 5 February 2010
The government is going to formulate integrated guidelines for nutrition intervention in the country soon with a view to bringing in all ongoing nutrition activities on a single track.
The Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN) has undertaken the initiative to formulate the guidelines considering the people's nutritional requirements.
Talking to UNB at her office Thursday, IPHN Director Prof Dr Fatima Parveen Chowdhury said presently, apart from the government, many non-government organisations (NGOs) and international agencies are working with nutrition activities in the country, which should be brought on a single track.
She said: "We're on the way to formulate integrated guidelines to ensure a single-track nutrition activity for all in the country."
The IPHN director mentioned that the guidelines would include various contents including the government's effort to reduce blood-deficiency and address the obesity problem among the people as well as on infant foods.
To address the blood-deficiency, the people will be advised to take anti-worm tablets along with other nutrition-rich food and vegetables, said Prof Chowdhury.
When her attention was drawn to treatment of malnutrition by 'micro-nutrient powder' and RUFT (Ready to Use Therapeutic Food) brought into the country by many international organisations, she admitted the presence of the two items in the market.
"We'll sit in a meeting soon with the ministries concerned to discuss what to do about the two items."
Describing obesity as an emerging health problem, the IPHN director said the country's young generation, who are found taking fast food and junk foods, face obesity problem.
She underscored providing nutrition-education to the people with a view to protecting them from malnutrition and other diseases like diabetes and hypertension caused by over-nutrition.
"Just a nutrition education can solve half of the malnutrition problem," Prof. Fatima Parveen Chowdhury said, adding that half of the country's children and women are victims of malnutrition for lack of adequate knowledge about nutrition.
She mentioned that to preserve nutrition in food, nutrition-related education like washing hands before taking food, washing vegetables before cutting those for cooking, giving exclusive breastfeeding to babies until six months were very important for the people.
The Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN) has undertaken the initiative to formulate the guidelines considering the people's nutritional requirements.
Talking to UNB at her office Thursday, IPHN Director Prof Dr Fatima Parveen Chowdhury said presently, apart from the government, many non-government organisations (NGOs) and international agencies are working with nutrition activities in the country, which should be brought on a single track.
She said: "We're on the way to formulate integrated guidelines to ensure a single-track nutrition activity for all in the country."
The IPHN director mentioned that the guidelines would include various contents including the government's effort to reduce blood-deficiency and address the obesity problem among the people as well as on infant foods.
To address the blood-deficiency, the people will be advised to take anti-worm tablets along with other nutrition-rich food and vegetables, said Prof Chowdhury.
When her attention was drawn to treatment of malnutrition by 'micro-nutrient powder' and RUFT (Ready to Use Therapeutic Food) brought into the country by many international organisations, she admitted the presence of the two items in the market.
"We'll sit in a meeting soon with the ministries concerned to discuss what to do about the two items."
Describing obesity as an emerging health problem, the IPHN director said the country's young generation, who are found taking fast food and junk foods, face obesity problem.
She underscored providing nutrition-education to the people with a view to protecting them from malnutrition and other diseases like diabetes and hypertension caused by over-nutrition.
"Just a nutrition education can solve half of the malnutrition problem," Prof. Fatima Parveen Chowdhury said, adding that half of the country's children and women are victims of malnutrition for lack of adequate knowledge about nutrition.
She mentioned that to preserve nutrition in food, nutrition-related education like washing hands before taking food, washing vegetables before cutting those for cooking, giving exclusive breastfeeding to babies until six months were very important for the people.