Healthy eating habits: experts underscore need for greater awareness

ISLAMABAD: Health experts on Sunday sounded an alarm, stressing the urgent need for awareness of healthy eating habits, as a staggering 1.28 crore Pakistani adolescents, including 5 lakh girls aged 13-18, fall prey to severe anaemia annually, largely due to a diet perilously skewed in favour of chicken over iron-rich red meat.

In an exclusive interview with a private news channel, renowned haematologist Dr Saqib Ansari painted a grim picture, revealing that a staggering 28 lakh new patients are diagnosed with anaemia every year, underscoring the urgent need for concerted efforts to combat this escalating public health crisis.

Dr Ansari further emphasized the alarming rise of anaemia among Pakistani youth, particularly adolescent girls, stressing that timely diagnosis and treatment were crucial in preventing long-term complications and urged parents and caregivers to prioritize nutritious diets rich in iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 to safeguard their children health.

Dr Ansari also cautioned that anaemia was not only debilitating but also had severe socio-economic implications, as it compromised cognitive function, impaired academic performance and reduced productivity, ultimately perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequality and appealed to policymakers to integrate anaemia prevention and control strategies into national health agendas.

Dr Ansari further recommended that incorporating dates (khajoor) and red meat into one’s diet could significantly help combat anaemia, citing the high iron content in these foods as a natural remedy to boost haemoglobin levels and alleviate symptoms of fatigue, weakness and shortness of breath associated with anaemia.