Ultra-processed foods are among top risks of diseases: Experts  

• The consumption of such foods is major cause of obesity.
• Experts appreciate govt to increase taxes on sugary drinks.
• Speakers demand govt to reduce consumption of such foods.

KARACHI: The ultra-processed foods products are high in salt, sugar and transfats and are the top risk factors of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDS) in Pakistan. These products though made tasteful through enhanced processing by adding artificial flavors and other substances but these are not healthy choices and contributing greatly to deaths and disease.

The consumption of such foods is the major cause of obesity and many fetal diseases like diabetes, ischemic heart diseases, cancers, liver and kidney diseases, stroke and many other chronic diseases.

The speakers while interacting with media session at Karachi demand government to take urgent policy measures to reduce consumption of such foods and ensuring availability of affordable healthy foods.

The session was organized by Pakistan National Heart Association at a local hotel and attended by the large number of journalists, civil society representatives, health professionals and academia.

Munawar Hussain Consultant at Global Health Advocacy Incubator said that sugary drinks, flavored dairies, ice creams, pastas, james, candies, burgers, samosas, partially hydrogenated oils, biscuits and bakery products etc are consumed by almost everyone but these are adding to miseries of our people by increasing their risk of becoming sick.

The products are cheaper as compared to healthier alternatives and government must take policy action to reduce its consumption. Increasing tax on such foods, enacting front of pack warning labels to help consumers adopting healthier choices, limiting transfats to less than 2 percent of total fats in all foods, regulating their marketing and removing such products from schools, and subsidizing healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and lentils could greatly help to cut down diseases and deaths in the country, he added.

“We appreciate the government to increase taxes on sugary drinks in Finance Bill 2023-24 but it is a first step only. Now we must gear up the progress to progressively increasing the tax on unhealthy foods and but also introducing a package of policies to reduce consumption” said by Sana Ullah Ghumman, General Secretary at Pakistan National Heart Association. “The heart diseases and stroke is among the top killers of Pakistanis and diabetes is already skyrocketing, and no country can afford to treat such a huge number of people” he added.

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Fayza Khan, President Pakistan Nutrition and Dietetic Society said that our population even don’t know the harmful effects of highly processed food products. We must mobilize public support by increasing awareness among population at masses and policy makers, and help them understand that we are in state of emergency where urgent policy measures can save thousands of lives every day.