RIYADH, 12 January 2007 — Starting this year, Saudi Arabia will stage an annual milk drinking day nationwide as a tool to increase awareness about osteoporosis.
Khaled Al-Mirghalani, the spokesman of the Ministry of Health, told Arab News that the day would be celebrated on the first day of the Islamic calendar, which this year falls on Jan. 20.
The day will be marked by a large celebration supported by Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie. It will be attended as well by Education Minister Abdullah Saleh Al-Obeid and Agriculture Minister Fahd Balghunaim.
“The attendance of these three ministers adds significance to the event from the perspectives of health care and education,” Al-Mirghalani said. “There is an international day for milk drinking celebrated annually worldwide, but we want to have our own one because statistics shows an increase in osteoporosis cases in the Kingdom. Milk and yogurt, which are rich in calcium, are very useful from the nutritional point of view to build bone and fight osteoporosis. If greater awareness is not created about the disease, it will exacerbate in no time.”
According the latest figures, osteoporosis among Saudi women is 67 percent, 40 percent of which are acute cases.
Nutritionists say milk and dairy foods are an essential part of a balanced diet. Milk is an important source of several nutrients including protein, calcium, zinc and vitamin B12.
Studies show that currently around 5 percent of men and 8 percent of women aged between 19-24 years are not consuming enough calcium to meet their needs.
