Schools seen playing important role in curbing rapid rise in diabetes

[rooster59]

Schools seen playing important role in curbing rapid rise in diabetes

By THE NATION

 

 

There has been a 27 per cent increase in diabetes among Thai youth but the efforts of Sweet Enough Network in Saraburi province have been successful in reducing sugar consumption in schools in the province to eight teaspoons per day.

 

 

“According to a study by Chulalongkorn Hospital’s paediatric endocrinology clinic, the proportion of type-2 diabetes (T2D) in youth aged 10 to 19 years old increased from 13 per cent during 2002 to 2007 to 27 per cent during 2008 to 2019,” Assoc Professor Taninee Sahakitrungruang, the executive director of Diabetes Association of Thailand, said.

 

“The sharp increase in diabetes is directly linked to the increased prevalence of obesity,” she added. “To prevent diabetes in youths, the role of the school in determining a policy for promoting physical exercise or controlling sugar consumption is important.”

 

Meanwhile, Dr Suwanna Somtawin, chief of dentistry at Saraburi’s Office of Public Health and the coordinator of Sweet Enough Network, revealed that the network has been working with concerned agencies since 200. In particular, of the around 200 schools in the province, it has worked with more than 140 schools that joined the network’s campaign “Enough Sweet School” and acted in accordance with the network’s standards.

 

“The schools that have joined the campaign cannot sell any kind of soft drinks or other drinks with sugar in excess of 10 per cent sugar to students,” she explained. “Also, the schools must not show media advertisements about snacks and soft drinks, and should create a nutritional knowledge board to instruct students.”

 

The results of many years of Sweet Enough Network’s efforts in Saraburi can be seen in the fact that children in the province consumed 8 to 10 teaspoons of sugar on average per day in 2019, while in 2005 they consumed 22 teaspoons per day. “Although the current consumption rate is still higher than the ideal rate of 6 spoons per person per day, the current result is satisfactory,” Suwanna added.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30378404

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-11-17

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[lupin]

When a CP "healthy choice" plain, steamed skinless chicken breast in 7/11 lists sugar as an ingredient, then all hope is lost.

[bluesofa]

Although Thais do add an awful lot of sugar to their cooked food, they're not the only ones.

I'd recommend this book: Salt Sugar Fat - How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss (2013)

 

Moss explains that for many decades now in the USA the food giants have spent billions of dollars in research working out what to add to food to keep consumer interest in their products.

The three magic items have been various combinations of salt, sugar and fat. So it's not just a conscious decision to add sugar, the companies are doing it purely for financial self-interest to continue selling, deliberately ignoring the health consequences for consumers.

That's why Coke has so much sugar in - purely to keep people buying it.

[sirineou]

10 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Although Thais do add an awful lot of sugar to their cooked food, they're not the only ones.

I'd recommend this book: Salt Sugar Fat - How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss (2013)

 

Moss explains that for many decades now in the USA the food giants have spent billions of dollars in research working out what to add to food to keep consumer interest in their products.

The three magic items have been various combinations of salt, sugar and fat. So it's not just a conscious decision to add sugar, the companies are doing it purely for financial self-interest to continue selling, deliberately ignoring the health consequences for consumers.

That's why Coke has so much sugar in - purely to keep people buying it.

Plenty of documentaries and seminars on YouTube. 

Here is a seminar by Moss

If interested the below is a must see.

 

[Speedo1968]

In the UK school tuck shops have been banned from selling sweets.   See link below-

https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27888584

However many fruit drinks are extremely high in sugar content as are some milk drinks.
Almost all products, even those marked as 'healthy' have sugar often around 3-6%.

  The term 'no added sugar' made hide the fact that natural sugars are still sugars.

There have been attempts by schools / some sections of the public ( not shopkeepers ), and a half-hearted approach by governments to ban the selling of "sweets" within so many metres ( 100 - 250 ) of schools, also zoning of such shops when applying for change of business or new buildings.

School meals were common when I went to school, they became less so later but new govt policies enforced schools to provide the "at least one hot meal a day" policy which also provides foods for different religious groups, vegans etc.

Schools here in Thailand should be more proactive, as could local councils but, when you see the junk foods most children take to school with them and the number of food sellers outside every school, there is little hope of bringing down obesity and the risks of early childhood diabetes.

As a child in England in the 1940's there was still rationing and ration books, in a roundabout way this restricted high sugar foods and diabetes was less common.   My diet for the past 50 years vegetarian and 40 years vegan but I still watch my sugar intake.

Those here in Thailand with children ( I don't have ) have the responsibility and hopefully the intelligence to help protect / inform our families and even friends of the short and long term risks of modern foods.

[justin case]

3 hours ago, lupin said:

When a CP "healthy choice" plain, steamed skinless chicken breast in 7/11 lists sugar as an ingredient, then all hope is lost.

sugar is bad in CP, but very little people look at all the other crappy chemicals (INS) that is in this fake food and let's not forget MSG which makes blend food taste better by tricking the brain and make you eat more = weight gain

[rozand]

8 teaspoons a day is still unacceptable for a substance not found as such in nature, un-natural.

[Benmart]

8 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Although Thais do add an awful lot of sugar to their cooked food, they're not the only ones.

I'd recommend this book: Salt Sugar Fat - How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss (2013)

 

Moss explains that for many decades now in the USA the food giants have spent billions of dollars in research working out what to add to food to keep consumer interest in their products.

The three magic items have been various combinations of salt, sugar and fat. So it's not just a conscious decision to add sugar, the companies are doing it purely for financial self-interest to continue selling, deliberately ignoring the health consequences for consumers.

That's why Coke has so much sugar in - purely to keep people buying it.

The article is about Thailand. I try to stay focused on what is going on here.

[Cake Monster]

The Schools are openly encouraging their Students to eat all the wrong foods.

A visit to any School around lunch time will show you the Freelance Vendors stalls selling Fried Chicken, Bubble Tea and everything else in between that is harmful to the kids, who would prefer to eat this rubbish than the food on offer at the trough.

Most of these stalls are on the School grounds, so are therefore selling their products with the full knowledge of the School Directors and Governors.

Probably a little earner from rental incomes