Malnourished means obese as much as emaciated

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Malnourished means obese as much as emaciated-U.N.

16 Mar 2006 17:27:00 GMT

Source: Reuters

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GENEVA, March 16 (Reuters) - The overweight are just as malnourished

as the starving, and nutritional programmes in poor countries need

to target rising obesity alongside hunger, a United Nations panel

said on Thursday.

" We need a new definition of malnutrition, " said Bertini,

chair of the U.N. Standing Committee on Nutrition. " Malnutrition

means under- and over-nutrition. Malnutrition means emaciated and

obese. "

Bertini said obesity, long linked to eating too much 'junk food' in

the United States and other wealthy nations, is fast emerging in

developing nations as more people move to cities, exercise less and

eat cheap or processed food.

" Food availability is not really the issue. The quality of the food

is what we recognise is the problem, " Bertini, former head of the

U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP), told a news briefing in Geneva.

" Obesity is not just a problem for rich countries. It's also a

problem for those who eat the wrong foods, in both developed and

developing countries, " she said.

Health ministers launched a global campaign against obesity in May

2004 at a meeting at the World Health Organisation (WHO), a U.N.

agency, calling on governments to work with consumer groups on food

advertising and labelling.

The WHO strategy recommends people limit their intakes of fats,

sugar and salt -- blamed for a surge in cardiovascular disease, type

2 diabetes and some cancers.

The nutrition standing committee, which is meeting in Geneva this

week, did not make dietary recommendations but urged close attention

to children's food intake in their first two years of life.

It praised breastfeeding as the best way to ensure small infants get

proper nutrition, and stressed healthy eating habits at home and in

schools can help children avoid being inclined to over-eat later in

life.

Shrimpton, secretary of the standing committee of U.N.

officials, academics, government officials and nutrition experts,

said the rise of fast food and sedentary lifestyles was boosting

obesity in fast-growing countries like China.

In India, a country with tremendous poverty, he said the cost of

treating obesity-related health problems like heart disease and

diabetes is fast overtaking public spending on feeding the hungry.

Bernini said that by broadening its view of malnutrition, the U.N.

panel hopes to spur health agencies and governments to take obesity

seriously as a development issue. " We hope it finds its way into

various policy documents and actions, " she said.