Minister of State for Public Education Jameelah Al-Muhairi revealed that the rate of obesity among public and private school students in the country reached 13.6% by the end of last year. Parents' appeal is necessary to cooperate with the ministry to reduce the spread of the phenomenon among students by changing unhealthy practices and practices in food and activity. Physical.

During the meeting of the Federal National Council, held yesterday at the headquarters of the Council in Abu Dhabi under the chairmanship of the President of the Council, Dr. Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, the Minister of Education is seeking to spread the "integrated meals" system currently in place in kindergartens and some schools in Abu Dhabi. Schools at the state level, at five dirhams per meal.

The Council agreed to postpone the response to a parliamentary question addressed to the Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, on the "outstanding cultural product", in which the Council member, Suleiman bin Sulaiman, apologized for not attending the meeting for prior commitments.

Council member Salem Ali Al-Shehhi asked the Minister of Education, Hussein Ibrahim Al-Hammadi, about the reasons for including Rajabi in the Ministry's curriculum. The Minister of State for Public Education, Jamila Al Muhairi, stressed that Rajabi is not alien to UAE society, In the state, which has a distinct sports union, pointing out that 60% of the world include rugby sport within school sports.

The minister said that the ministry seeks to include all the world and Olympic sports within the school curricula, especially Rugby, which reinforces the spirit of the team and urges perseverance, which must be shown by students, especially that many research emphasized the importance of this sport for adolescents because of the discipline and nutrition of the spirit of the team , Pointing out that the ministry has worked on the development of school sports by attracting many of the competencies that contribute to turn dozens of students into Olympic champions. "The sport of rugby is one of the most dangerous sports, especially for females, and the first was the replacement of girls with the introduction of cooking, housekeeping and household curricula, such as those in European schools," the council member said. Hundreds of students in different stages of study ».

The minister replied that rugby is optional, meaning that those who fear or dislike can not practice it. She also said that "the ministry is working to include sports and family activities, especially cooking classes, within the school curriculum. And this trend is included in the agenda set by the ministry in the school clubs project », pointing out that the ministry is currently considering the allocation of school clubs for boys and girls.

The Council member, Mohamed Ben Kordous Al Ameri, proposed the inclusion of a national service curriculum for high school students, which would prepare them for entry into the field of national service and military life.

The Council moved to a question by member Saeed Saleh Al-Rumaithi to the Minister of Education, on the efforts of the ministry to curb the spread of obesity among students in schools in the state.

"We are all looking for optimal ways to reduce the phenomenon of obesity in schools. We in the Ministry believe in the importance of concerted efforts between the concerned authorities and ministries to develop the programs necessary to eradicate this phenomenon," said the Minister of State for Public Education. Obesity rates among school students, and we ended last year to decrease the proportion of obesity, from 14.4% in 2016 to 13.6%, which means that our efforts in this regard are moving in the right direction ».

She added that the measurement of obesity rates in schools is conducted through global tools, including a questionnaire supported by the Ministry of Health and Community Protection, where some questions are asked to students about the types of food they eat and rates of fast food intake and physical activity in and out of schools.

4 main challenges to dealing with obesity in schools

The Minister of State for Public Education, Jamila Al-Muhairi, said that her ministry is dealing with obesity in schools according to four main challenges, the first of which is nutrition.

"We are working on providing school canteens with healthy foods, including vegetables, fruits and dairy products. We are also aiming to spread the integrated meal system currently being implemented in kindergartens and some schools in Abu Dhabi. Identify children with exceptional conditions, such as diabetes and allergies of some type of food, and inform suppliers that appropriate meals should be allocated to them ».

She said that the ministry aims to ensure that the food provided to students is healthy in line with its focus on the development agenda on the quality of healthy life of the student through schools, curricula, cafeterias and activities. She hoped that each school will have a kitchen that provides health food within the specifications of the World Health Organization.

The minister pointed out that the second challenge is the awareness efforts on the dangers of obesity among students, noting that the ministry is making great efforts in this area with students and their families, but said: "The real problem in this challenge lies in parents who have unhealthy practices and habits in food and activity Physical, reflected on their children, increases the rates of obesity ».

She explained that the third challenge is the physical health of students, pointing out that the ministry cooperates significantly with the Ministry of Health and Community Protection in the preparation of a health file for each student through which to monitor the health and physical condition of students, including of course the rates of obesity.

The ministry concluded its response by stressing that the ministry's latest challenges in the field of obesity in schools are the health and psychological support of the students. The ministry organizes a week to confront bullying in order to educate students about the importance of maintaining their health and preventing risks.

Before proceeding with a general discussion on "competitiveness and statistics", the Council approved the report of the Committee on Financial, Economic and Industrial Affairs of the Council in this regard.

• 13.6% Obesity rate among students in public and private schools in the country.