4 March World Obesity Day creates an important opportunity to raise awareness in society. This year, as every year, Ministry of Health and 81 Provincial Health Directorates organized events within the framework of the themes of “Eat Healthy, Exercise, Stay at a Healthy Weight” and “Let's Talk about Obesity and Youth/Old Age/Exercise” for World Obesity Day on 4 March 4. “Türkiye Healthy Nutrition and Active Life Program Adult and Childhood Obesity Prevention and Physical Activity Action Plan”, which started to be implemented in our country in 2010, continues to be updated and implemented. In addition, the “Türkiye Diabetes Program” and the “Türkiye Excessive Salt Consumption Reduction Program” implemented by Ministry of Health directly and indirectly contribute to healthy nutrition and the fight against obesity. The two most important elements in preventing and combating obesity are; eating healthy and increasing physical activity. It is important to acquire a healthy nutrition culture to prevent the development of nutrition-related chronic diseases, including obesity. Some basic suggestions for this can be summarized as follows: • Healthy eating habits that will positively affect body weight, blood pressure, blood sugar level, blood lipids and bone health should be acquired from an early age. • Body mass index should be between 20.0-24.9 kg/m². • Maintaining a healthy body weight should be sustainable, and frequent weight gain and loss should be avoided. • Food diversity should be increased. • Total and saturated fat intake should be reduced. • Sugar intake should be reduced, the amount of simple sugar consumed should not exceed 10% of the total daily energy intake. Consumption of patisserie products, pastries, desserts, chocolate and pre-packaged products containing added sugar should be reduced. • Drinks with added sugar should also be avoided and fruit should be consumed instead of fruit juice. If ready-packaged fruit juice is to be used, 100% fruit juices that do not contain added sugar should be preferred. • Fiber intake should be increased by consuming vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and oilseeds. • Vegetables and fruits should be consumed in season and at least 400 grams of vegetables and fruits should be consumed per day. • Excessive protein consumption should be avoided. • Fish should be consumed at least twice a week (300-500 grams). • 2-3 glasses of milk and/or yoghurt should be consumed every day. • Consumption of prepackaged products should be limited. • The amount of fat added to meals should be reduced by using appropriate cooking methods. Instead of frying food; boiling, steaming, grilling, oven cooking or microwave cooking methods should be preferred. • Fluid consumption should be increased; At least 8-10 glasses (2.5-3 liters) of water should be consumed per day. 35 ml/kg of liquid should be consumed daily based on body weight.
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