Poor nutrition, worse than alcohol and drugs

POOR NUTRITION, WORSE THAN ALCOHOL AND DRUGS

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Poor nutrition poses more health risks than alcohol, tobacco, drugs and unprotected sex combined, a study concludes.

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"You need to pay more attention to food because 6 of the 11 disease risk factors are related to what you eat. You have to look at poor nutrition rather than just the symptoms, "says Patrick Webb of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition, an expert panel that looked at food systems.

Their recently released report reports on the situation around the world. This malnutrition therefore includes both undernourishment and obesity and overweight.

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Researchers calculate that diet-related diseases lose more years of life and years in good health than those caused by smoking, alcohol and drugs, and unprotected sex.

Canada is not much different because it is the food risks that are at the forefront.

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What makes the authors of the study say that the problem lies not so much in the quantity of food, but in the quality of food.

"It is healthy foods, low in salt and sugar, that should be the pillars of food policies and bring companies to make changes," said Quebec nutritionist Hubert Cormier.

Underestimated damages?

The Global Panel would like governments to tackle this problem as they have done for other diseases such as HIV or smoking.

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In Quebec, obesity costs the health system $ 3 billion a year, the Weight Coalition adds. An evil that may have been underestimated.

"We focused on smoking and we lost sight of the food effort," says Corinne Voyer, the organization's director.

"Obesity and diabetes are silent epidemics, you have to have a global approach. We can promote fruits and vegetables, but we can not ban brownies, "said Chantal Blouin, of the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec .