Healthy Eating Day on March 7th: In Austria, twice as many foods high in fat, sugar and salt are eaten as recommended.
Vienna (OTS) – More than half of Austrians are overweight or even obese. This means they are at a much greater risk of developing so-called non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases or diabetes. A major factor that can lead to this is diet. A balanced diet can reduce the risk of becoming overweight, but most Austrians do not adhere to the general nutritional recommendations. For Maria Fanningerfounder of the association Land creates lifethis is due, among other things, to a lack of awareness about the effects of food on one’s own body:
“What we eat has a huge impact on our health and well-being. But we usually don’t think about that when we eat, and junk food often ends up on our plate as a quick filler – with a lot of sugar and fat and few important nutrients. In the short term this has a negative impact on our well-being, but in the long term it is damaging to our health.”
Too much of one, too little of the other
When it comes to nutrition, recommendations and practice are often far apart. We should eat five portions of vegetables and fruit per day, but on average we only manage two. Meat, on the other hand, is consumed in excess. In Austria, men in particular often exceed the recommended amount of a maximum of three servings per week. This is also due to the frequent consumption of processed meat such as sausage and ham. We also overindulge in foods that are very high in fat, sugar and salt: twice the general nutritional recommendations end up on our plates. Maria Fanninger says:
“’All you can eat’ is only possible with one food: vegetables. But we eat far too little of that and far too much of sweet and fatty foods. Too much of the wrong thing, too little of the right thing: This one-sided diet – perhaps combined with too little exercise – increases the risk of being overweight or even obese. When we eat a balanced diet, we are not ‘just’ healthier. We’re simply doing better overall.”
Being overweight promotes numerous diseases
Overweight and obesity increase the risk of many so-called non-communicable diseases (NCDs). These include, for example, diseases of the cardiovascular system, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer. Almost three-quarters of global deaths – equivalent to 41 million deaths – are caused by such non-communicable diseases. A significant factor that can lead to overweight or obesity and subsequently to NCDs is diet.
Questions & Contact:
Carmen Brüggler, communication
Land creates life
8970 Schladming | 1010 Vienna
T: 01 89 06 458
presse@landschafftleben.at