jordan pulse -

​Health Ministry: Only 12% of school students aged 13-17 engage in more than an hour of daily physical activity, while 31.5% do not participate in school physical education classes.
​Health Ministry calls for maintaining physical education classes, encouraging physical activity, and banning the sale of certain foods and beverages in school canteens.
​Joint committees from the Ministries of Health and Education and the JFDA to oversee school canteens.
​Minister of Health Ibrahim Al-Badoor disclosed the results of the Global School-based Student Health Survey in Jordan for the 13–17 age group, which revealed that 32.9% of students within this demographic suffer from overweight or obesity. The overweight rate alone reached 20.8%, while the obesity rate stood at 12.1%.
​The findings further showed that only 12% of students in this age group engage in physical activity for more than 60 minutes daily during the week, whereas 31.5% did not participate in physical education classes at school. The rate of overweight students in public schools reached 30.3%, compared to 42.5% in private schools.
​The study was prepared for school students by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO).
​Al-Badoor stated that these findings and health indicators prompted the Ministry of Health to implement a series of measures in coordination with relevant authorities aimed at improving the health and nutritional environment in schools, promoting physical activity among students, and reducing risk factors associated with overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity.
​Within this framework, the ministry sent an official letter to the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development outlining health requirements for school canteens, alongside lists of permitted and prohibited foods and beverages for students, calling for their enforcement.
​The Minister of Health specified these conditions and food and beverage items in the letter to help enhance the nutritional environment in schools and foster healthier choices among students.
​Key items prohibited from sale in school canteens include flavored and processed chips, all types of carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, and manually prepared beverages or juices containing artificial dyes.
​As part of measures taken to strengthen oversight over canteens, the Ministry of Health issued another directive to the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development and the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA), stressing the necessity of activating specialized sub-technical committees to monitor school canteens.
​Source: Rum News Agency