The State Planning System of Kazakhstan prioritizes public health as a key objective. This includes creating opportunities to unlock the potential of every citizen.
By 2050, all Kazakh citizens are expected to have access to basic social standards in healthcare. This will ensure healthy nutrition and promote a healthy lifestyle.
Kazakhstan reaffirms its commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These goals highlight the importance of ensuring healthy lives and well-being for all.
Currently the government is enhancing healthcare legislation. Key principles include:
– Prioritizing prevention and promoting healthy lifestyles.
– Ensuring healthcare meets social needs and improves quality of life.
– Providing equal access to safe, effective, and quality medical care.
Despite reforms, some health indicators show little improvement.
Birth rates have declined from 21.73 per 1,000 people to 19.52 in five years. Mortality rates slightly decreased from 7.19 to 6.56 per 1,000 people.
Cardiovascular diseases, respiratory issues, cancers, digestive disorders, accidents, and infections remain leading causes of death. These account for 55% of annual fatalities in Kazakhstan.
These trends indicate an urgent need for comprehensive measures. Improving public health and quality of life must become a national priority.
Poor dietary habits are a major contributor to declining health. Thus, state policies should aim to curb the widespread consumption of harmful products.
Experts identify bacon, sugary drinks, alcohol, fries, sausages, donuts, salty snacks, corn dogs, pizza, white rice, bread, and pasta as the most harmful foods.
However, the government currently focuses only on tobacco and sugary drinks. Measures are mainly tax-based.
Global practices show taxation alone is insufficient. Without public awareness, strict regulations or bans fail to reduce consumption effectively.
Many Western countries employ non-tax methods.
For example, the UK uses a “Traffic Light” labeling system. It highlights levels of calories, sugar, fat, and salt in red (high), yellow (medium), or green (low). This makes it easier for consumers to identify unhealthy products.
Promoting healthy diets through public campaigns is another effective approach. Many nations encourage fruit and vegetable consumption. Campaigns such as “5-a-day” (Chile, Germany, Italy) or “2&5” (Australia) emphasize daily intake of nutritious food.
Restricting advertising of unhealthy products is also impactful. Studies reveal such measures significantly influence dietary habits.
For instance, Quebec’s advertising ban reduced fast-food calorie consumption by 5.6–7.8 billion calories annually.
These examples demonstrate the potential of a comprehensive strategy. Effective policies can reduce harmful product consumption, address counterfeit risks, and strengthen public trust.
Expanding the list of harmful products and adopting multifaceted measures will help Kazakhstan combat obesity. This will elevate national health standards and prevent long-term economic and social consequences.
According to The Lancet, over 1 billion people globally are obese. This figure surpasses forecasts by the World Obesity Federation, which predicted this number by 2030.
It’s time to act!
Darina Kenes, independent expert
