National girls warned of bad eating habits

A majority of national girls are physically unfit as they are suffering either from anaemia or obesity for having bad eating habits, a nutrition specialist said here yesterday.

Poor dietary habits are creating problems for females, especially for teenage girls, and they need immediate attention of parents as well as teachers to guide them on nutritious foods, said Salma Al Ameri, a national Nutrition Specialist from the Nutrition Education and Training Programme.

The programme is being run by the Nutrition Department in the Al Ain Medical District. Salma highlighted the difference in food requirements of males and females, saying young girls need more fresh vegetables, meat and edibles which carry high iron content.

"They need these vitamins and iron rich food to overcome the deficiency of blood they lose during periods," she noted.

Salma regularly visits different schools in Al Ain Education Zone to educate teachers as well as students on various aspects of nutrition and dietary habits.

Based on school visits she has found out two types of malnutrition among students. One is that many of the students are poor eaters. They sometimes overeat unhealthy food and sometimes skip main meals by eating junk food.

The other category of girls include those who are suffering from obesity and trying to reduce their weight by heavily cutting down on meals.

Both categories indicate unhealthy eating trends among girls who are in the age bracket where one needs nutritious and healthy food to meet future challenges in life, she added.

"Parents can play a very important role in the improvement of their daughters' health by paying proper attention," said Salma, adding that they should contact a nutritionist for help if they know little about healthy eating.

The nutrition department is always ready to serve people looking for information. "We are here to answer any question," she said.

Teenage girls should also be asked to do some physical work or exercises. In most of the schools, separate facilities have been provided for exercise classes.

"We have also noticed that most of the girls are lazy and not doing any exercises. What happens is that many girls bring medical certificates saying they should not do any exercise. Teachers cannot force students to do exercise in the presence of such certificates," she added.

Malnutrition among schools students has moved the Ministry of Education to consider a project to provide healthy food and stop the school cafeterias and provision stores from selling junk food and cola drinks to growing children.

The department has already provided information, description of meals, and food safety guidelines to the ministry for the project.

It is also holding a workshop at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain to educate people, especially school children, on proper eating habits. Salma also delivered a lecture at the workshop on how to create awareness on nutrition.