Lack of healthy diet riskier than smoking: Global Panel

The lack of a healthy diet puts more people at risk of death and diseases in developing countries than things like air pollution, smoking and drug abuse.

Poor nutrition caused GDP to drop by an estimated 11 percent in countries across Africa and Asia.

These and other insights came in a report on “Healthy Diets for All: A Key to Meeting the SDGs” launched at this year's Global Panel meeting at a hotel in the capital yesterday, says a press release.

Brac and Global Panel in collaboration with International Food Policy Research Institute and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Public Health Foundation of India hosted this year's meeting.

The report presented six evidence-based recommendations showing policymakers in low and middle-income counties how “diet quality” could achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The focus was on paying attention to diet quality in developing Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) plans, adopting food systems approach to meet the SDGs and focusing on improved diet for infants, young children and women.

It was also on addressing barriers and shocks impeding access to healthy diets, widening national policy approach to ensure well-functioning food systems and boosting efforts to collect and report data on diet quality.

Zahid Malek, state minister for health & family welfare, was present as chief guest.

Panel members included Dr Kaosar Afsana, director, Health, Nutrition and Population Programme, Brac; Emmy Simmons, Global Panel member; Professor Patrick Webb, Global Panel technical adviser; and Jane Edmondson, Department for International Development country director.