June 17, 2011, 9:21 pm
By Don Asoka Wijewardena
Nuwara-Eliya district is affected by a low birth rate of 33 per cent, which is a matter of great concern. People in Nuwara Eliya have got used to consuming wheat flour based food products.
Some large-scale businessmen and trade professionals are deliberately precipitating malnutrition in Sri Lanka. The Nuwara-Eliya district has recorded the highest malnutrition rate among the districts of the country, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said at function held to mark the National Nutrition Month at Nuwara-Eliya Town Hall recently.
Minister Sirisena said that profit maximization was the only motive of some businessmen in Sri Lanka. They flood the market with artificial beverages and wheat flour based food products. By and large owners of hyper and supermarkets were in the habit of attracting people, especially children and persuading them to buy various kinds of food items which lacked the essential nutrients.
He pointed out that various types of advertisements on bill boards, hoardings and banners displayed by businessmen had tempted people to consume artificial beverages and unhealthy food. As a result, people were liable to fall sick. Between 1505 and 1948, the then rulers imported wheat flour and as a result various kinds of bakery products were produced and sold. Sri Lankans who had got used to natural food habits became accustomed to food made of wheat flour. But before 1,505 food-borne diseases were unheard of in Sri Lanka and people never suffered from any malnutrition.
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