One in five children has excess weight in Kazakhstan
At today’s parliamentary hearings Kazakh Vice Healthcare Minister Timur Sultangaziyev announced that salt intake in Kazakhstan remains high, Kazinform News Agency reports.
Today non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 84% of deaths in Kazakhstan and around the world. According to the WHO, 27% of early deaths fall on four key diseases: cardiovascular diseases, obesity, cancer and diabetes.
One of the risk factors is malnutrition.
The vice minister said products high in fat, sugar and salt lead to NCDs, disability, significant healthcare costs, and affect the wider economy. He added circulatory system diseases grew by 6%, obesity by 2%, and diabetes by 17% as compared to 2022.
He stressed that salt intake throughout the country remains high. The WHO recommends less than 5 grams (approximately 2g sodium) per person a day against 17 grams a day recorded in Kazakhstan. Over 17% of children aged 6-9 drink sweet beverages every day, and over 50% every week. As a result 20% of children aged 6-9 or one in five has excess weight, and 7% of them suffer from obesity.
In conclusion, he stressed the need to focus on improving people’s nutrition standards, and healthy eating, attracting business to the production of healthy and safe products, and raising public awareness.
As reported earlier children’s disability cases are on rise in Kazakhstan. At the meeting of the Government, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the population Svetlana Zhakupova reported an 11.4% increase in the number of children with disabilities observed in Kazakhstan in the past three years.
