Image used for representation only.
Doha, Qatar: A new action guide on healthier food and environments at sports events was launched yesterday as part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 legacy.
“Healthier food and healthier food environments at sports events” was launched by the World Health organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health, “ an action guide for sports and event organizers.
It proposes five actions to achieve healthier food and healthier food environments at the different types of food service and sales points in and around sports stadiums.
The Assistant Minister for Health Affairs of the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Salih Ali Al Marri, speaking at a webinar held to launch the new action guide, said that the new guide is the result of the partnership between WHO and Qatar for a healthly and secured FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and take lessons learned from the tournament to share with future mega sporting events.
“Our mission was clear to introduce, reduce, and nurture healthier alternatives within stadiums and fan zones…Our collective efforts highlighted a vision to create a legacy of sports linked with health that establishes a pioneering model and one that holds tangible, feasible solutions - a blueprint extending beyond 2022,” said Dr. Al Marri.
“Today, we proudly launch the guide which explains the path to healthier food offering and fosters a nourishing food environment at sporting events. This comprehensive resource incorporates nutritional benchmarks, evaluation mechanisms, and behavioral strategies. It is a testament to our commitment,” he added.
Experts and national authorities of sports event host countries shared how to improve the food offer and food environments at sports events, reflecting on experiences gathered at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, in which 30% of the food offered in the stadium was healthier per the pre-established criteria.
Senior Advisor to the Minister of Public Health Office, Dr Roberto Bertollini, shared lessons and key achievements of the FIFA World Cup 2022. “During the FIFA World Cup 2022, we achieved approximately 30% healthier food options within stadiums and 21% in FIFA fan festival, based on WHO criteria. We challenged the belief that major sports events are incompatible with healthier food options. Demonstrated alignment of food offer with public wealth values,” he said.
“We piloted a model of collaboration and general lessons to be replicated at future sports events, offering healthier environments,” he added.
Bertollini recommended that for healthier events, it is essential to have early engagement with procumbent and marketing sectors, early planning of logistics, resources, and food supply, training staff about policies and practices, developing proactive communication plans, and establishing regular monitoring and evaluation plans.
Kaia Engesveen from Multisectorial Actions in the Food Systems Unit, Department of Food Safety at WHO shared details of the action guide and said that it is mainly designed for sports event organizers and the five actions to achieve healthier food and healthier food environments are listed as improving the food offer, setting prices to incentivize healthier food choices, nudging to promote healthier food choices, communicating and promoting more nutritious food and healthy diets, restricting marketing foods and beverages high in fats, sugars and salt.
She emphasised that examples of the lessons learned from implementing some of the five actions at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar are provided throughout the guide.
“The five actions in the guide lead towards healthier food and healthier food environments at sports events. The good news is that few sports events or stadiums have started offering healthy food and healthy food environments,” said Engesveen.
“There’s always a foundation to build on. Over time, sports event organisers might take stepwise approaches to implement more actions. Or strengthen existing actions by making them more comprehensive or even mandatory,” she added.
