Diet education is food for thought, medical expert says

A national political adviser has suggested promoting diet education among the public to improve the overall health of the population and promote sustainable development.

With Chinese people changing their diet habits and the excessive intake of nutrition and calories becoming an increasingly common problem, it is necessary to promote public education on healthy dietary habits, Gu Jianwen, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said.

Diet education should be promoted in various sectors, including schools, healthcare, agriculture and food production and sales, he said.

In many developed countries, regulations have been established to promote diet education, but such regulations and systems are lacking in China, Gu, also president of the People's Liberation Army 306 Hospital, said.

Promoting diet education is particularly important to minors to help them form good habits at the start, which will contribute to their physical and psychological health over their entire life, he said.

Diet education also promotes people's awareness of the protection of natural resources and helps establish harmonious relationships between man and nature, he said.