Page 91 - Human Rights

Faculty of Nursing
Adult care Nursing Department

While this was influenced by a change in dietary habits, there is still a wide range of preventive

strategies remaining at this level, namely primary healthcare. For example, some epidemiological

studies have shown that despite the efforts made to date, one-third of people living in Europe are
overweight.

Further, depending on the country, there has been an increase of 10% to 40% in the number of

overweight individuals over the past decades.

Numerous international projects have been developed toward formulating guidelines for the

implementation of dietary norms, that is, projects to develop nutrition strategies that have an
impact on public health and carry out an evaluation of the policies previously defined.

The aim is to improve the nutritional status of populations in specific societies. In addition, on a

global scale, similar programs must be implemented to positively change citizens’ lifestyles (Cole

and Fielding 2007).

The guidelines for action fall on the continuing training of primary and secondary school teachers

to encourage students to adopt more active and healthy lifestyles and in the nutrition education

of the population. This strategy serves a double purpose.

On the one hand, promoting a healthy diet regarding the excessive consumption of saturated fats,

salt, sugar, and alcohol and on the other hand, decreasing the incidence of obesity in the

population.

In the context of assessing the impact of dietary habits on individual and collective health, the
importance of alcohol consumption in many countries warrants consideration.

A study on the global burden of disease sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and

the World Bank found that “alcohol-related death and disability are responsible for high costs to

life and longevity.”

88 Academic Year 2025/2026