The Xarxa Valenciana d’Universitats Púliques Saludables (Valencian Network of Healthy Public Universities), composed of the Universitat de València, the Universitat Politècnica de València, the University of Alacant, the Universitat Jaume I and the Miguel Hernández University, will celebrate its Dia de l’Alimentació Saludable (Healthy Food Day) this Thursday 13 November with the organisation of different activities on their campuses.
The five Valencian public universities have prepared the manifesto 'Menja mediterrani, menja salut (Eat Mediterranean, eat health)' to claim the Mediterranean diet as a factor of quality of life in response to the increase of food-related disorders, which are one of the major and most prevalent problems of public health nowadays. These rising trends cause great concern due to their consequences as the eating habits of the Spanish population are shifting away from the healthy model of the Mediterranean diet.
In fact, the Mediterranean diet has been recognised as a model of healthy eating for its association with longer life expectancy and its protective effect against chronic diseases. On 16 November 2010 the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee agreed to include it in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Although the university community is an apparently outstanding group regarding their educational level and access to information, there are social and environmental factors which make them vulnerable in terms of eating habits. The lifestyles of the university community are influenced by social, economic, cultural and environmental factors which affect the access to certain foodstuffs, their price or even working hours. For this reason, “in order to respond to their necessities, many universities have launched centres and institutions related to food and nutrition”, as the manifesto indicates.
The Xarxa Valenciana d’Universitats Púliques Saludables takes part in the projects driven by the World Health Organization to promote healthy environments.
Further information and programme of activities:
www.ua.es
www.uji.es
www.umh.es
www.upv.es
www.uv.es/campus-sostenible
Last update: 12 de november de 2014 09:44.
News release
