Download Minimizing the consumption of unhealthy food in order

Haganum Model United Nations
Gymnasium Haganum, The Hague
Research Reports
Economic and Social Council
Minimizing the consumption of unhealthy food
in order to decrease obesity and diabetes
10th, 11th and 12th of March 2017
Haganum Model United Nations 2017| 10th of March – 12th of March 2017
Forum:
Economic and Social Council
Issue:
Minimizing the consumption of unhealthy food in order to
decrease obesity and diabetes.
Student Officer: Marieke Pronk
Position:
Deputy President
Introduction
Obesity and diabetes: two human health problems, which have become more
frequent the past few years. What we eat and drink is challenging us more and more.
Approximately, each year the disease obesity is accountable for almost 3 million deaths and
around $2 trillion in medical costs and lost productiveness. So the question is: how could
policies ameliorate what we eat and drink, since a healthy diet is crucial to a long and vibrant
life?
If obesity and diabetes were infectious diseases, so a disease which easily passes
from one person to another, public health officials would have said the world, especially the
Western world, is in the middle of an epidemic. These two diseases are affecting an evergrowing number of adults, but even more frightening, is the fact that it is starting to appear in
teenagers and children.
Furthermore, obesity and in particular diabetes are the main causes of blindness and
kidney disorder among adults. They also result in mild to severe nerve impairment and boost
up the risk of a heart attack. The good side of all this is that the diseases are not inevitable.
They can mostly be evaded by taking measures, such as keeping weight under control,
exercising more, eating a healthy diet and not smoking.
Definition of Key Terms
Diabetes
A chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or
when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. This leads to an increased
concentration of glucose in the blood (hyperglycaemia). There are two types:
-
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by a lack of insulin production
-
Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body’s infective use of insulin. It often results
from excess body weight and physical inactivity.
2
Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2017| 10th of March – 12th of March 2017
Obesity
An abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual’s ideal
body weight. It is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death.
Background Information
As mentioned in the introduction, obesity and diabetes has become epidemic
diseases in the world. Where obesity and diabetes previously only appeared in wealthy
countries, it is now all the more appearing in low- and middle-income countries, mainly in
urban settings.
Figure 1: Age-standardized prevalence of obesity in men aged 18 years and over, 2014
What are the causes of obesity?
The causes of obesity are complex, but one thing is for sure: there is a connection
between obesity and the increased consumption of free sugars. Recent research shows a
correlation between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and preventable death rates
from diabetes and cancer, with the majority of deaths in low- and middle-income countries.
However, there are many components that can cause obesity, which are discussed in detail
below.
Lack of energy balance
Mostly a lack of energy balance leads to obesity. That means that the incoming
energy, the amount of energy or calories you get from food and drinks, and the
outgoing energy, the amount of energy your body uses for things like being active and
breathing, is not in balance.
3
Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2017| 10th of March – 12th of March 2017
An inactive lifestyle
Many people spend hours in front of TVs and computers doing (school)work and
other activities, which ensures a not physically active life. At least two hours a day of
TV and Computer time has been linked tot obesity, but also the increasing use of cars
instead of walking or cycling and the fewer physical demands at work or at home
because of modern devices.
Environment
Some environments foster obesity, because of the lack of recreation parks, the work
pressure, the oversized food portions, a lack of access to healthy foods and the
massive ‘junk food’ advertising.
Genes and family history
Genes have a huge influence on a person’s weight and may affect the magnitude of
fat you store in your body. So when there are several persons in a person’s family
who have obesity, that person has a higher risk of getting obesity too.
Health conditions and medicines
There are some hormonal problems where the levels of androgens are high, which
provoke obesity. Medication ensures that you gain weight. The medicines slow down
the rate at which your body burns calories or provoke your body to hold on water.
Emotional factors
When people are stressed or bored they eat more than usual, which over a long time
can cause obesity.
Lack of sleep
The risk of obesity is higher when you sleep less, since your body loses the weight of
the day when you sleep. So when you sleep less, your body cannot balance itself.
The lack of sleep also results in a higher blood sugar level, which increases the risk
for diabetes.
Smoking
When people stop smoking they get obesity very easily, since nicotine raises the
calorie-burning rate.
4
Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2017| 10th of March – 12th of March 2017
What are the health effects of obesity?
There are a lot of negative effects of obesity on people’s health. The health effects
include, but are not limited to, the following.
High blood pressure
Fat in the body needs oxygen and nutrients in order to live, for it is needed to circulate
more blood to the fat. It increases the workload for the heart, since it must pump more
blood, so the pressure is increasing.
Diabetes
Obesity cause resistance to insulin, the hormone that regulates the blood sugar.
When there is insulin resistance, the blood sugar becomes elevated. Insulin is
needed to trigger glucose being taken into the body cells, to be used for energy.
Heart disease
Obesity can reduce the blood flow to the heart and can cause chest pains or a heart
attack. Blood clots can also cause a stroke.
Joint problems
Because of extra weight on the knees and hips, joints wear out faster.
Breathing problems
Added weight of the chest wall squeezes the lungs and causes restricted breathing.
Cancer
Women with obesity have an increased risk for a variety of cancers including breast
cancer. Men with obesity have an increased risk for colon cancer and prostate
cancer.
5
Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2017| 10th of March – 12th of March 2017
Country/ethnic group
Europeans
In the USA
Chinese, Malay and Asian-Indian
population Chinese
Japanese
Waist circumference (cm)
Men
Women
≥94
≥80
≥90
≥80
≥90
≥80
≥85
≥90
Table 1: Proposed WC for diagnosing the metabolic syndrome in selected country/ethnic groups.
Metabolic syndrome
Metabolic syndrome consists of six leading components: abdominal obesity, elevated
blood cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance with or without glucose
intolerance, elevation of certain blood components that indicate inflammation, and
elevation of certain clotting factors in the blood.
Psychosocial effects
In a culture where the ideal of attractiveness is to be extremely thin, people with
obesity experience disadvantages. They are blamed for their condition and
condemned as lazy. People with obesity commonly have lower incomes. Expressed
disapproval may progress to discrimination.
Figure 2: The effects of obesity
6
Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2017| 10th of March – 12th of March 2017
Are current public health strategies effective?
During the past years, developing population-based strategies for averting more
obesity was of great importance. It should mark factors causative to obesity; target barriers to
lifestyle change at personal, environmental and socioeconomic levels, and involve different
levels of privy and other parties. The Obesity Policy Action framework proposed by Sacks
suggests that actions for the implementation and development of effective public health
strategies to prevent obesity should target physical activity milieus, food environments and
socio-economic environments. It should also influence behaviour and support health
services.
The policy areas influence physical activity environments including urban planning,
transport and organisational policies. Also, living in a small communion and having parks or
other recreation places nearby is better for your health. The making of these recreation
facilities in different countries were successful for the decrease of obesity, especially the
creating of larger school grounds.
As a result of direct influence in people’s behaviour by policies, the settings in which
people live have changed. The policies targeted to influence the eating behaviour in schools,
homes, workplaces and communities. The policy-based school intervention for the
prevention and control of obesity has been found most effective. But of course the School
Nutrition Policy Initiative is a very effective policy with nutrition education, social marketing
and documenting the parent outreach.
What are barriers to the reduction of Obesity?
People have to adjust their lifestyle, which is a huge problem for many people. They
are used to a way of life and encounter difficulties in changing their way of life. Firstly the
upcoming use of information technology reduces the physical activity, but also the
consumption of snacks causes obesity. Secondly, in our world everyone wants to be the
best, which could lead to a lot of stress. Policies cannot change people’s character, so it will
be extremely difficult issue to tackle. Thirdly, food and tobacco industries want to make the
maximum profit and offer larger portions.
7
Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2017| 10th of March – 12th of March 2017
Major Countries and Organizations Involved
United States of America (USA)
The United States of America are dealing the most with obesity and diabetes. In their
culture it is more common to go to a ‘junk food’ store instead of fresh cooking restaurants.
More than half of the American population have obesity and/or diabetes. This is a huge
problem.
World Health Organisation (WHO)
The World Health Organisation is an organisation that was set up to manage the
health of the world into good jobs. This organisation is trying to change the habit of eating
‘junk food’ daily.
Timeline of Events
Date
Description of event
1989
UN Convention on the rights of the child
2008
Starting of the School Nutrition Policy Initiative
2009
Obesity Policy Action framework proposed by G. Sacks and analysis
grids for a comprehensive policy approach to reducing obesity.
Relevant UN Treaties and Events

Health, morbidity, mortality and development, 2010 (Resolution 1)

Adolescents and youth, 2012 (Resolution 1)

World Diabetes Day, 20th of December 2006, (Resolution 61/225)
Previous Attempts to solve the Issue
Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Mexico, the Navajo Nation, and the city of
Berkeley, California have enacted taxes on unhealthy foods and drinks, so called junk food.
Which means that there is an extra tax on drinks and food that contain a lot of unnatural
sugar.
Also all over the world there have been written books about healthy food, causing that
diabetes and obesity can be avoided, and there are diets conceived.
8
Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2017| 10th of March – 12th of March 2017
Possible Solutions
Lately there has been a lot of thinking about the problem of obesity and diabetes in the world.
However, there are still some possible solutions left. Firstly, the tax on unhealthy food needs
to be more devised and changed, so it is used more constant in a country and over the
world.
Another way to solve this issue is to start sport initiatives for children and adults with obesity.
They cannot change their lifestyle by their own, so they have to be helped.
Furthermore, school education courses in which children are taught in healthy lifestyle and
healthy foods and drinks have to be started. Educating children, on how they have to live
healthy, can do wonders.
And last but not least, healthy food has to be promoted more on social media. There are a lot
of commercials about junk food restaurants. When countries change these unhealthy food
commercials into healthy food commercials, the obesity will increase definitely.
Bibliography
http://www.who.int/topics/diabetes_mellitus/en/
http://www.who.int/topics/obesity/en/
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/obesity
http://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2155177-fitter-slanker-en-gezonder-na-een-maandzonder-alcohol.html
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/diabetes-prevention/preventingdiabetes-full-story/
http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000553-ShouldWe-Tax-Unhealthy-Foods-and-Drinks.pdf
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/diet-nutrition/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2872299/
http://www.who.int/elena/bbc/ssbs_adult_weight/en/
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/causes
https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/healthy-living/obesity.html
http://www.childtrends.org/programs/school-nutrition-policy-initiative/
https://www.idf.org/sites/default/files/UN%20Resolution%20on%20World%20Diabe
tes%20Day%20of%20Dec%202006.pdf
Appendix or Appendices
For the necessary sources please refer to the bibliography.
9
Research Reports