"If we make this type of product more affordable and less expensive for the population, we are not only making it easier for them to choose based on their financial availability, but we are also educating the population, because we are showing them that, for example, these foods without VAT are the ones that should be included in their meals," defended Liliana Sousa.

The president of the nutritionists spoke to the Lusa agency about a study released today by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), according to which inadequate diet and excess weight (including obesity) are among the factors that most determine the disease burden of the Portuguese.

"They are among the main determinants of the loss of healthy life years for the Portuguese, contributing, respectively, to 8.3% and 7.5% of total deaths in Portugal in 2021", says the DGS, which is part of the Global Burden Disease Study, an international study, coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of the University of Washington, which aims to provide estimates on the causes of the global burden of disease, as well as the burden of disease attributed to different risk factors (88 risk factors) in 204 countries.

For the president, these results "are frightening" and should deserve "a reflection" and a "background strategy", with measures that go beyond those that have been taken to tax less healthy products, namely sugary drinks.

"It requires a reflection on how we can shape what is being done so that these numbers can be combated and, in fact, we do not come to see this increase in inadequate eating habits as a factor, almost the main one, of death in our country", she said.

She recalled that "there are some dispatches that aim to set up multidisciplinary teams for the treatment, namely of obesity", but the truth is that from a practical point of view, there are still not the necessary resources to be able to "efficiently and solidly implement these measures on the ground".

In her opinion, there is a lack of investment measures that would make nutritionists available to the population, because the "current scenario is one of a very great shortage" in all sectors of activity, such as health (where there are only 150 in health centres in the country), education and local authorities.

According to the study, the high consumption of red meat, processed meat and salt, as well as the insufficient consumption of whole grains, fruit and vegetables were the inadequate eating behaviours that most contributed to the Portuguese living fewer years in health in 2021.

"In addition to inadequate diet and excess weight, other determinants of health, indirectly related to the way we eat -- such as high plasma glucose and high blood pressure -- are considered the main causes in Portugal for the appearance of diseases such as diabetes, neoplasms and cardiovascular and renal diseases and for the associated mortality", highlights the DGS.

Liliana Sousa believes that there is a work of food education to be done with the population, in order to obtain results in the control of these diseases, in addition to making access to healthy foods more accessible, namely those that are part of the Mediterranean diet, "which only a small portion" of the population complies with.

On the other hand, she defended a partnership between the health sector and the food industry, in order to "progressively" reduce the levels of salt, sugar and saturated fats present in products.

"We naturally want the industry to continue to sell its products, but we must also have a closer relationship with these operators in order to, for example, encourage the development of healthier products through this progressive reduction" of certain more harmful nutrients in their products.

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