(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Oman has no cases of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) as per a national survey conducted last year by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to assess their prevalence.
Dr Samia al Ghannami director general nutrition department in MoH said the country was able to achieve this due to sustained efforts by the government.
Dr Samia was speaking on the sidelines of the Iodine Global Network meeting held on Wednesday at Grand Hyatt Muscat.
'An earlier survey conducted in 1993 among Omani schoolchildren showed that more than 50 per cent had low iodine levels. Seeing this the government worked closely with concerned authorities to fortify food and provided iodised salt to control IDD in the country' she said.
The 2014 survey was carried out on a sample of 2560 schoolchildren aged between six and 12 years and the iodine level was assessed on the basis of the concentration of iodine in urine. Iodine deficiency is regarded as the main cause of brain damage and mental retardation.
These can be avoided with a healthy intake of iodine enriched food such as iodine rich salts fish and other seafood.
Commending MoH on its success Professor Michael Zimmerman chairman of the Iodine Global Network said that the next goal of the body would be to increase the intake of iodine among pregnant women. 'It would be safe to say that Oman is iodine sufficient but it needs to be regularly monitored so that the authorities maintain the success levels. The mean UIC (urinary iodine concentration) for Oman is 195mcg/L which is good. Another task is to reduce salt intake of people to prevent non communicable diseases like hypertension and heart failure etc.'
Regarding reduction of salt intake Dr Samia said that 'The food and nutrition department is now working at different levels with health authorities to find gaps in the dietary habits of people and plug them. 'For example we have reduced the salt used in breads made locally by ten per cent and plan to cut it down by 30 per cent in three years.'
Dr Samia further said 'Better and a closer relation with the private sector is required to ensure quality control.'
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