For the first time since the Covid pandemic disruptions, nutrition and dietetic health professionals from Africa and further afield gathered in person for the 2023 Nutrition Congress.
Held in West Somerset, Western Cape, the 3-day event was co-hosted by NSSA (Nutrition Society of South Africa) and ADSA (Association for Dietetics in South Africa).
At the Congress, it was revealed at the 3-day event that obesity was one of the major public-health concerns facing South Africa, with an economic impact estimated at R701bn each year.
Within South Africa, research has found that 31% of those affected by obesity are male, 68% female and 13.5% are children aged five years and up. The numbers representing children far exceed the global average of 6.1%.