| | |  Health & Beauty 
Overweight and Obesity, Unquestionable Challenges that Cannot be Postponed: President Calderón
 Suzanne Stephens Waller - Presidencia de la República
go to original
January 26, 2010
| | President Calderón witnesses signing of National Agreement on Nutritional Health, urges media to publicize importance of healthy lifestyle. | |
Mexico City - Because the solution to problems is to cope with them, rather than avoiding them, President Felipe Calderón urged all sectors of society to build a common front against overweight and obesity, one of the greatest health challenges of the 21st century.
“This is a situation we can no longer ignore,” declared the President as he witnessed the Signing of the National Agreement for Nutritional Health: Strategy against overweight and obesity.
“The point is that through this agreement we are taking a key step towards attracting attention and I am fully aware of the scope of the problem and the fact that the problem requires an immediate response and everyone's participation,” he said.
Accompanied by his wife, Margarita Zavala, cabinet members, governors and entrepreneurs, the President reported that this Agreement has led to the creation of the National Council for the Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases, which will serve as an instrument for the evaluation and follow-up of commitments established and the results that emerge from the forums that will also be organized.
“The constant struggle against overweight and obesity must be a determined, everyday fight. It is essential for Mexicans to have a balanced diet and to promote and engage in far more physical activity," he said.
At the Explanada Francisco I. Madero, of the official Los Pinos residence, President Felipe Calderón said that the goals are: to reverse overweight and obesity in children ages two to five, in the population ages five to 19 and adults.
“And we are going to act by using this instrument. Through it, all the actors involved are concentrating our determination to build a common front against the problem. By signing this document, we pledge to combine efforts, report on what we are doing and continue working for Mexicans’ health," he said.
He also instructed the Federal and State Health Secretariat as well as the governors to focus on these problems in children and youth through the corresponding legal instruments to promote better nutrition at the country’s schools.
He urged businessmen to become aware of the severity of the problem and to make the agreement’s goals a priority in decision-making.
He urged the media to disseminate messages on the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle and engaging in everyday physical activity.
“The success of this strategy lies largely in people’s hands. So I invite you to work together on this. It is a serious problem. We are going to throw our weight against this Nutritional Health Agreement and this strategy against obesity and overweight," he said.
He said that it is important to deal with this problem because nowadays, 70% of adults in Mexico are overweight, together with four and a half million children between the ages of 5 and 11.
These figures, he said, mean that Mexico is currently the country with the greatest number of overweight adults and unfortunately, with the greatest problem of child obesity worldwide. |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us