The situation with healthy lifestyle habits, especially among youngsters, is critical, said Latvian Minister of Healthcare Hosams Abu Beri during a meeting of the Nutrition Council.
According to information available to the Ministry of Health, in the nine-year-old children group the obesity rate is 29.1% among boys and 24.8% among girls. Physical activity is low as well – for example, in the fifteen-year-old youngsters group only 21.6% of boys and 14.6% of girls undergo sufficient physical activity.
Although a number of activities have been implemented in the past several years – nutritional norms and quality requirements for the provision of catering services in educational institutions were set; the application of excise duty on sweetened non-alcoholic beverages helped lower the consumption of these beverages for children and young people; activities have been implemented to promote physical activity and healthy eating habits.
Despite this, however, health literacy remains insufficient, which is is reflected in children’s and youngsters’ everyday habits.
Abu Meri stressed that a healthy diet and sufficient physical activity are two cornerstones of good health. They not only ensure good health but also improve a person’s quality of life. Unhealthy everyday habits create a significant burden for both healthcare and the country in general, because this situation causes a rise in non-infectious illnesses – a rise in the number of patients suffering from obesity, sugar diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses, and cancer.
“To improve this situation, we need a complex, comprehensive and very focused policy to help influence a change of habits that affect our residents’ health,” stressed the minister.
Participants of the meeting were presented with a report from the Ministry of Health accomplishments in the implementation of a plan to reduce obesity rates and promote healthy lifestyle. Activities are financed from European Structural Funds. Participants of the meeting also looked at results of the Study of Habits Affecting the Health of Latvian Schoolchildren. Results show that in 2022 indexes worsened significantly, which points to problems with Latvian children’s health habits – both the number of pupils having breakfast on weekdays and eating fruit and vegetables has decreased, especially among girls. It is also notable that consumption of sweets and sweetened beverages is up.
The amount of physical activities among schoolchildren is down, which is negative influence left by Covid-19 pandemic on healthy habits. This is why it is important to take immediate action to change habits.
The Nutrition Council supported the plan to reduce the spread of obesity and promote physical activities for 2025-2026 by setting four priority directions: lowering obesity among children and adults, combating insufficient physical activity in society, reducing unhealthy dietary habits among the population, reducing the diagnosis of inadequate obesity, as well as improving access to state-funded health services for the treatment of obesity.
The Ministry of Health adds that since the adoption of excise duty on non-alcoholic beverages there has been a significant drop in consumption of sweetened beverages. The ministry believes it is necessary to continue applying excise duty on non-alcoholic beverages while also considering the option to increase the tax rate, especially on beverages with a high concentration of sugar. This would ensure that sweetened beverages are less accessible than their healthy alternatives. It is also necessary to continue and improve initiatives that promote healthy dieting habits in society.
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