Dubai: Dubai schools will soon have to follow new guidelines on portion sizes and nutritional values of food served to students through canteens.
The Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality will soon begin to apply the updated nutrition guidelines for schools, the civic body said in a press release on Monday.
The guidelines focusing on nutritional labelling and portion sizes were prepared by a team of specialists after consultation with the Municipality’s strategic partners, particularly the establishments that will bear the responsibility of implementing it.
There was no time frame given for the implementation of the new rules. However, an official said the implementation would begin as soon as the municipality distributes the guidelines currently being printed.
“Applying the new nutrition guidelines is part of our contribution to the implementation of the national agenda, which has put clear goals for dealing with child nutrition,” said Noura Abdullah Al Shamsi, head of Permits and Applied Nutrition Section.
She said childhood obesity is one of the most important challenges related to public health in the 21st century, with the increasing prevalence of this phenomenon becoming a cause of worry over the last two decades.
“Recent studies have indicated that more than 34 per cent of children in the UAE suffer from either obesity or overweight. These studies project that schoolchildren suffering from obesity will continue to do so through their adulthood. Obesity is attributed largely to lifestyle, and choosing of foods high in calories and low nutritional value with easy access to them and poor nutritional culture,” pointed out Al Shamsi.
“That is why the competent authorities in the country have focused on nutritional education and promotion of nutritional health behaviours as well as healthy lifestyle. Various authorities such as Dubai Health Authority, Knowledge and Human Development Authority and the Dubai Sports Council have shown interest in the application of our guidelines, which is expected to be a quantum leap for food provided by schools and educational institutions in Dubai,” she said.
According to Jehaina Al Ali, Principal Food Studies and Surveys Officer in the Permits and Applied Nutrition Section, the guidelines are being printed and will be distributed to all schools and educational institutions and suppliers of food to schools in Dubai. This will be done in conjunction with awareness workshops on the method of implementation by different educational institutions.
