{"id":99502,"date":"2023-01-31T07:42:34","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T07:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/?p=99502"},"modified":"2023-02-01T11:36:05","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T11:36:05","slug":"policies-to-prevent-sa-childhood-obesity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/policies-to-prevent-sa-childhood-obesity\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocates Call for Policy Changes to Prevent SA Childhood Obesity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Approximately 13% of South Africa’s children under five years are overweight \u2013 more than double the global average. Being overweight and developing obesity in early childhood<\/a> increases the risk for adult obesity, as well as associated conditions like high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure. All of these conditions relating to childhood obesity are increasingly prevalent in South Africa…<\/p>\n

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Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and teens. It’s particularly troubling because the extra kilos often start children on the path to lifelong health problems<\/a>. Childhood obesity can also lead to poor self-esteem and depression.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Fight Against Childhood Obesity in South Africa<\/h4>\n

The main cause of overweight and obesity among children is the consumption of high-calorie diets \u2013 those that are rich in salt, sugar and fats. This is also influenced by other factors such as household poverty coupled with the high cost of healthy foods.<\/p>\n

South African children’s fast-food consumption<\/a> rates are high. In a 17-country study completed in 2014, researchers found that fast-food consumption among South African children and adolescents was more frequent than in high-income countries such as Japan and Belgium.<\/p>\n

“Highly processed and unhealthy foods have become increasingly accessible and affordable over the last three decades, leading to a global increase in weight issues and obesity, especially in the poorest and most vulnerable communities and households,” says Nzama Mbalati, Programmes Manager at the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA).<\/p>\n

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The Bitter Truth About Sugar Consumption<\/h4>\n

One of the major factors associated with obesity is sugar consumption<\/a>. South Africans are estimated to consume up to 24 teaspoons of sugar per day \u2013 double the daily WHO recommendation.<\/p>\n

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South Africa passed a Health Promotion Levy (HPL) on sugary beverages<\/a> in 2018. Commonly known as ‘the sugar tax<\/a>‘, it has led to considerable reductions in the purchase and consumption of taxable drinks, proving that legislation can support consumers to reduce intake of unhealthy foods and beverages.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Currently, at least 85 countries have sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) taxation. Data from countries like the UK and Mexico indicates that SSB taxes successfully reduce sugar consumption. In South Africa, people are buying 28% fewer sugary drinks since the government implemented the HPL in 2018. In addition, the levy has slashed the South African beverage sector’s use of sugar by a third. The combination of the two has cut sugar intake in the country by nearly a third. It is now time for the sugar tax on drinks \u2013 currently at 10% of the cost per litre \u2013 to be doubled and this needs to happen soon,” says Mbalati.<\/p>\n

This is critical to address the country’s raging diabetes epidemic and the high rates of obesity that fuel it. “South Africans are addicted to sugar. With more than a quarter of the population living with obesity, we are among the top 20% of the most obese nations in the world. More than 4,5 million people are diabetic, with diabetes being the second-largest cause of death after tuberculosis,” Mbalati adds.<\/p>\n

Sugary drinks should be drastically reduced in children’s diets<\/a>. “Even 100% fruit juice with no added sugar contains a lot of sugar with none of the fibre you would find in a piece of fruit to help fill you up. Encourage kids to drink mostly water and plain milk. Get them to eat whole fruit, like an apple, instead of drinking apple juice,” says Mbalati.<\/p>\n

Learn more about HEALA and be a part of the conversation by visiting the links below.<\/em><\/p>\n

whatsinourfood.org.za<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Approximately 13% of South Africa’s children under five years are overweight \u2013 more than double the global average. Being overweight and developing obesity in early childhood increases the risk for adult obesity, as well as associated conditions like high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure. All of these conditions relating to childhood obesity are increasingly prevalent in South Africa… Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and teens. It’s particularly troubling because the extra kilos often start […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"brand_slug":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99502"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99677,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99502\/revisions\/99677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}