Active Working Life Triggers Obesity

Esra Tansu, a lecturer from Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, made an assessment on public health nutrition.

Obesity, which is one of the increasing and important public health problems in our country, is seen at a rate of 31,5% in adults. Experts point out that the time spent by individuals for food preparation and consumption does not decrease with participation in active working life, which leads to unhealthy eating behavior. . Experts also emphasize the importance of creating community nutrition guidelines.

Esra Tansu, a lecturer from Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, made an assessment on public health nutrition.

The effects of nutrition on public health should be taken into account.

Lecturer Esra Tansu, who stated that community health nutrition encompasses the improvement of health through nutrition and the primary prevention of nutrition-related diseases in the community, said, “From the past, nutrition science has studied not only the nature of exposure to the components of food and beverages, but also the same zamIt also addressed their impact on the health and well-being of human and animal populations. Therefore, nutrition cannot be considered without examining the consequences of consumption patterns on society in general, and it is difficult to address nutrition science without taking into account its impact on public health.” said.

Planning should be done to solve nutritional problems

Lecturer Esra Tansu noted that public health nutrition aims to improve well-being through nutrition, physical activity and prevent diseases in the society, and said, “Related to this, nutrition should be planned to solve the nutritional problems in the society. Therefore, the key nutritional problem(s) should be identified first through community studies. Afterwards, goals and measurable targets should be established, solution programs should be implemented and the results should be evaluated.” he said.

Obesity is 31,5 percent in adults

Noting that Turkey's Nutrition and Health Survey (TBSA) is conducted periodically to determine the nutritional status in our country, Tansu said, “The latest TBSA-2019 results have been published. Obesity, which is one of the increasing and important public health problems in our country, is 31,5 percent in adults. said.

Low-cost food choices impair health

“When the food consumption data is examined, we see that there are wrong food choices rather than excessive energy consumption in our country,” said Tansu, adding, “While the consumption of vegetables and fruits is low, the consumption of processed and sugary foods is quite high. Of course, at this point, the concept of food insecurity comes into play. Since individuals have difficulty in accessing food economically, they tend to prefer foods that are high in calories and cheap in cost. This trend causes an increase in both obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and vitamin-mineral deficiencies. said.

Community nutrition guidelines should be established

Noting that for all these reasons, public nutrition in our country and in the world should be considered from a broad perspective and nutritional recommendations should be made accordingly, Tansu said, “Community nutrition guides should be created according to the current nutritional status data obtained. The current guide available in our country is Turkey Nutrition Guidelines (TUBER)-2015. The new TUBER, which will be prepared according to the results of TBSA-2019, should be prepared in a way to include different groups in the society, taking into account not only the nutritional status but also the socioeconomic status of the individuals.” said.

The shortening of the time devoted to food preparation brought unhealthy nutrition…

Lecturer Esra Tansu, who noted that the obstacles to the creation of healthy eating behaviors in the society can be caused by individual or social processes, said, "With the increase in participation in active working life, the decrease in the time that individuals allocate for food preparation and consumption increases the tendency to choose unhealthy food, and this process leads to unhealthy eating behavior. triggers its transformation.” said.

Information pollution about nutrition is spreading uncontrollably…

Lecturer Esra Tansu said, “In addition, non-evidence-based nutritional information obtained from sources such as mass media, social media or social environment can be associated with the uncontrolled spread of malnutrition behaviors. For this reason, health authorities need to create awareness in the society by using social media and mass media more actively.” said.

Food insecurity is one of the biggest obstacles

Pointing out that food insecurity is one of the obstacles to healthy eating, Tansu said, “Food insecurity is about physical or economic access to sufficient, safe and healthy food by all segments of the society. For individuals who are geographically and economically disadvantaged, the cost factor in accessing healthy food can be defined as an obstacle to healthy eating. he said.

Community health nutrition is a multidisciplinary field.

Stating that public health is an area that is widely discussed and requires multidisciplinary work, Tansu said, “In public health nutrition, although nutritionists play a primary role, physicians and allied health personnel should be included in the team. Apart from this, non-governmental organizations, national and international organizations, food industry and universities can also support this field. said.

Public awareness is very important

Noting that one of the most important steps to be taken to ensure that public health nutrition is at an ideal level, Tansu said, "At this point, awareness raising activities can be carried out through media communication tools, seminars, events and projects." said.

Pointing out that there is a serious increase in obesity and related problems in our country, Tansu said, “The Ministry of Health has been implementing the Turkey Healthy Nutrition and Active Life Program since 2014 to combat obesity. Yet in another project; Since iron deficiency is common in women and children in our country, free iron supplementation has been provided to babies aged 2004-4 months since 12 and to mothers from the 2005nd trimester to the 2rd month of breastfeeding since 3. Current data indicate that the incidence of iron deficiency has decreased in these groups. Similarly, defining the problems related to nutrition, which are common in our society, and creating projects play a key role in finding a solution.”

Esra Tansu, a lecturer from Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, stated that another important point is to make arrangements regarding agriculture and food policies, and noted that this way, the physical and economic difficulties of producers in the production phase and consumers' access to food can be overcome.