“Nourishment and its effects on the health of mothers and their children”, this was the title of the fifth institutional encounter onreproductive health and critical factors in women’s health, held today at the Expo Milano 2015 Conference Center and promoted byOnda (National Observatory on Women’s Health), a Civil Society Participant of Expo Milano 2015, in collaboration with Italy’sDepartment of Reproductive Health and Research(RHR) and with theWorld Health Organization.

 

Focus on the crucial phases: pregnancy and the first 1,000 days

 

Various members of Italy’s Parliament took part in the event, includingEmilia Grazia De Biasi, thePresident of the Senate’s Commission for Hygiene and Health, who strongly expressed the hope that the health of women and infants remains a priority on the global agenda. “It’s also important that women are protagonists of this Universal Exposition – declared the Senator – They guarantee nourishment from the first instants of life and they mostly manage the eating habits of their families.”

 

The link between diet and health is clearly perceived

 

During the conference, a research survey conducted by Onda on a sample of 600 Italian women between the ages of 35 and 65 was presented. Nine Italian women out of ten recognize that correct diet is a crucial factor in the prevention of numerous health problems such as excessive weight and obesity, metabolic illnesses and high blood pressure.

 

“The close connection between diet and health is also highlighted by the WHO, which considers that adequate nourishment and health are basic human rights – explainedFrancesca Merzagora, President of Onda–Four out of ten women expressed the desire to improve their eating habits, for example by increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables and using more fresh and natural foodstuffs.”

 

"Overcoming the obstacles that many Italian women face in following a healthy diet is a responsibility shared by many elements of society, beginning with laws, policies and public practices”, declaredFrancesco Branca, Head of the Nutrition for Health Department of the World Health Organization. Branca also reminded his listeners of the six nutritional improvements indicated by the United Nations as goals for 2025: to reduce by 40 percent the number of children who by their fifth year have not reached normal physical development for their age; to increase the number of newborn babies exclusively breast fed until their sixth month; to reduce the number of excessively underweight children; to reduce the number of women who suffer from anemia; to eradicate acute malnutrition; and to drastically reduce the number of people affected by serious obesity.

 

New Italians are more careful too

 

The awareness of correct dietary practice as an instrument for health is also confirmed bya second survey carried out by Onda, on a number of women aged under 40who have emigrated to Italy, in order to find out how their food awareness has changed in a different country. Particularly notable here was how many foreign women indicated that in Italy, compared to their country of origin, they had become much more aware of the importance of a healthy and balanced diet during pregnancy.

 

The Pink Stickers Program, a winner of theWE-Women for Expo competition, at the Italian Pavilion

 

Onda has various other initiatives planned for Expo Milano 2015 on the subject of women’s health and diet. In the Italian Pavilion, for example, a permanent stand has been mounted, dedicated to theProgramma Bollini Rosa, orPink Stickers Program, a winner of the “Projects for Women” competition promoted by“WE-Women for Expo 2015”.