• Nutritionists push public to focus not just on a healthy meal but also on adequate quantities of nutrients, limiting unhealthy food

Nutrition plays a unique role in creating a healthy and productive population. Even though the prevailing economic crisis has considerably affected the fulfilment of Sri Lankans’ nutritional needs, it is crucial to take measures to fulfil those needs with the available resources. However, nutrition is not just a matter of obtaining the necessary nutrients, it is also about limiting the consumption of unhealthy food or the intake of nutrients at an unwanted level.

This is one of the key messages that Sri Lanka’s health authorities delivered in line with this year’s (2023) national nutrition month, while noting that the public must identify their responsibility and ability concerning obtaining a healthy meal. June has been declared this year’s national nutrition month, and one of the major objectives of it is drawing people’s attention to making positive changes pertaining to nutrition. This was mentioned by the members of the Health Ministry’s Nutrition Division during an event organised by the Health Promotion Bureau. According to the speakers, Sri Lanka should not only think about new programmes, but also fully utilise the existing programmes to ensure that nutrition related needs are met.

Four key messages 

The Division’s Director, specialist Dr. Lakmini Magodarathna, explained that this year’s national nutrition month focuses on raising awareness on four key areas of health.

The first area of health pertains to the daily calorie intake of Sri Lankans. Noting that when it comes to Sri Lankans’ lifestyle, people of all age groups suffer from issues such as being underweight or being overweight or obese, she said that in order to maintain one’s weight within the acceptable limits of the body mass index (DMI), it is a must to have proper knowledge about the amount of calories that one should consume. According to her, the health authorities have prepared guidelines to raise awareness on the amount of calories that one should take per day in order to maintain their BMI score at an optimal level, and also about the six main food categories. 

The amount of calories that one should take varies depending on their lifestyle, health condition and profession, and it is important that each individual be vigilant of their calorie intake, especially when it comes to carbohydrates, to suit their body. With regard to protein, she raised concerns about whether Sri Lankans’ protein intake is sufficient and noted the importance of paying attention to plant based proteins.

She explained the second area of health: “Of the nutrient deficiencies that we see in Sri Lanka, micro-mineral deficiencies have reached a level where it could become a problem. To address iron, vitamins, calcium, and zinc-related deficiencies, our food habits should be diverse. Whenever possible, consume diverse vegetables and fruits. In addition to vitamins and micro-minerals deficiencies, we have more challenges in this regard. With the economic crisis, the prices of food of high nutritional values have increased, while the food items that still remain easily affordable are not adequately nutritious and contain high levels of sugar, salt and fat.”

Dr. Magodarathna noted as the third area of health the importance of people being mindful of the sugar levels as well as the overall nutrient levels of the food items that they purchase. She said that the people should make it a habit to check those details when purchasing food. Stressing that it is crucial to limit as much as possible the consumption of food items with high levels of salt, sugar and fat, she raised concerns about the rise in the number of people living with non-communicable diseases (NCD). The adoption of these best practices for a healthy life should start at a younger age as even youth are not safe from NCDs, according to her.

Paying attention to low cost nutritious food items was noted as the fourth area of health, regarding which Dr. Magodarathna said that despite the economic crisis having triggered an increase in the prices of food, it is still possible to obtain nutritious food at a low cost. “Every time we raise awareness among the people about nutrition, their response is that they (the recommended food items) are expensive and are therefore not affordable. We too acknowledge that. However, there are low cost nutritious foods in our respective areas, regarding which the health authorities have published booklets.”

National nutrition month

In addition, the speakers shed some light on the importance and the need for a national nutrition month in the current economic situation, regarding which Dr. Magodarathna said: “We all have been facing an economic crisis since last year (2022), and we also are dealing with a nutrition related risk. The objective of the national nutrition month is to improve the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to maintain nutrition at an optimal level in the face of the economic crisis.”

Meanwhile, the Division’s community health specialist Dr. Yasoma Weerasekara explained what sort of programmes the national nutrition month consists of, and the role of the various stakeholders and their involvement in those programmes. She emphasised the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to make the national nutrition month a success, adding that non-governmental organisations and various other developmental partners are also involved. 

“In this year’s national nutrition month, we pay special attention to children under the age of five. Under this, we expect to evaluate the growth of these children. This will be applicable to all children across the Island. Based on the data gathered through this endeavour, we anticipate to identify the areas in which children and groups who are most at risk of facing nutrition-related issues, live. There is a need for this endeavour, because, in the context of the ongoing economic situation, we cannot provide economic assistance to all the children, and therefore, we have to identify the children who are most in need of assistance. Taking into consideration issues such as children being underweight, overweight, and suffering malnutrition, there are also plans to evaluate their situation and to provide help and knowledge to overcome the issues.”

In addition, in line with long term NCD prevention efforts and with a focus on all groups, the health authorities will also encourage the people to be mindful about the nutrition-related risks when purchasing food.

Another focus area of this year’s national nutrition month is evaluating the nutrition situation of pregnant women and to raise awareness about the same, according to Dr. Weerasekara.

Sri Lanka has taken the initiative to launch a national nutrition month in a context where during the past few months, a number of national and international parties have raised concerns about the risk of malnutrition in the country as a result of high food inflation. Although various measures are being taken by the Government and non-Governmental and private actors and though food inflation has reduced to some extent, malnutrition is still a cause for concern with children and the elderly at its centre, and the unstable nature of the food market is still a challenge.