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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