Iran starts 'Healthy Food’ campaign

Iran has launched a nationwide campaign called ‘1, 2, 3 Healthy Food’ to encourage a healthier diet for the public.

The Iranian Health Ministry’s new plan will see some 800 nutritionists deployed around the capital city of Tehran from December 19 to January 4, giving free of charge diet consultations to the nationwide public.

The government scheme aims to create a culture of healthy diet and raise public awareness about risk factors such as diets high in cholesterol, carbohydrates, and salt causing cancer, diabetes, and heart conditions.

Sessions will also be held for teachers, students and their parents to inform them about the benefits of a healthy diet. Healthy food festivals will be organized at universities of medical sciences all over the country.

Meanwhile, municipality health departments have taken it upon themselves to launch a healthy-foods campaign including healthy diet buses and banners in the cities.

Campaign manager, Zahra Abdollahi, highlighted the importance of raising awareness in Iran to maintain a healthy diet, saying a balanced and healthy diet in cooperation with the government scheme will prove to be effective and it would result in a 50 percent decrease in heart diseases, a 30 to 40 percent drop in cancers, and an 80 percent decrease in diabetes.

AI/AI