a SciTechnol journal Short Communication Hamadeh, J Clin Nutr Metab 2017, 1:2 All articles published in Journal of Food & Nutritional Disorders are the property of SciTechnol, and is protected by copyright laws. Copyright © 2017, SciTechnol, All Rights Reserved. Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism International Publisher of Science, Technology and Medicine Healthy Lifestyles in the Arab World: between Nutrition Economics and Food Politics Sima Hamadeh* *Corresponding author: Sima Hamadeh, PhD, Assistant Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Program Coordinator of Nutrition and Dietetics Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Haigazian University, Mexique street, Kantari, PO Box: 11-1748, Riad El Solh 1107 2090, Beirut, Lebanon, Tel: +9611-353010/1/2; E-mail: sima.hamadeh@haigazian.edu.lb Received: September 09, 2017 Accepted: September 18, 2017 Published: September 25, 2017 strategic decisions are driven by economics, but not science and certainly not health [14]. herefore, nutrition economics discipline is crucial to increase the understanding of nutrition’s impact on disease prevention [15-16] and to generate relevant evidence for nutrition policies [17]. he nutrition economic analysis is used to evaluate if and how much healthy lifestyle choices will vary with 3 primary economic variables: income, food prices, and information about nutrition and health [15]. Although nutrition economics can identify some determinants of lifestyle choices there is a need to add more realism into economic perspective by incorporating the sociological, psychological, physiological and behavioral aspects of dietary and physical activity patterns [15,18]. Such a comprehensive sociocultural approach reveals a broader range of policy options to increase the likelihood of healthier nations, and helps nutritionists, economists and policymakers better understand food choices [18]. Discussion his short communication highlights the need to study more intensively everyday health situation of the Arab countries. Reliable and valid longitudinal data are essential for planning population- based public health programs [3,19]. As such, several areas could be identiied where improvements in coordination and cooperation between diferent sectors in the Arab countries will produce national datasets permitting the analysis of the magnitude and trends in occurrence in speciic diseases. he establishment and sustainability of several public health initiatives and policies in the Arab world should be monitored and resourced adequately [3,18]. Moreover, research funding should be directed toward investigating the association between unhealthy lifestyles and chronic diseases that are prevalent among Arabic populations especially in the gulf region [1]. Community- and school- based intervention programs and policies focusing on increasing physical activity, improving dietary patterns and reducing tobacco consumption are urgently required to slow the trajectory of the estimated mortality rates due to chronic diseases particularly in the young population [3,18]. he literature suggests a speciic gender-based [1,12,13] and geo-demographical based [18] consideration when making recommendations to promote healthy lifestyle patterns. his means that intervention and motivation programs should be customized to suit the needs of the individual, with gender as a primary consideration [1,13]. In some Arab countries, there are already developments by universities and, national and international health organizations to facilitate and improve the training of clinical and public health specialists to raise the awareness of chronic diseases [11,20]. However, there is a shortage of trained health communicators and journalists, which hamper eforts for improving the holistic health status of the Arabic populations [3,18]. Legislations and standards for compliance to public health measures and nutrition national guidelines should be developed, reviewed and revised periodically [3]. Indeed, legislations should focus primarily on schools’ environments, food industry and telecommunication industry simultaneously [14,18]. Governments, communities namely food industry and civil bodies Introduction he Arab Countries have witnessed signiicant lifestyle changes due to globalization, rapid urbanization, availability of high- fat and dense-caloric foods, satellite TV, introduction of laborsaving devices at home and the workplace, reliance on modern means of transportation, increased dependence on computer and telecommunication technology, and decreased occupational-work demands [1,2]. hese lifestyle changes have had a considerable impact on alteration in traditional diets, reducing the physical requirements of daily life and have encouraged sedentary lifestyles amongst youth and adults [1,3,4]. Consequently, such remarkable lifestyle transformation is thought to be greatly responsible for the nutrition transition and the epidemic of chronic diseases in the whole Arabic region [5-7]. Physical inactivity and unhealthy dietary patterns are considered among the leading causes of metabolic risk and major non-communicable diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer, thus contributing substantially to the burden of disease, death, and disability in the Arab countries [1,4,8]. Speciically, the rapid increase in wealth of oil rich countries of the Arabian Gulf has been associated with demographic and epidemiological transitions [9], and rapid increases in the prevalence of chronic diseases which, are occurring at far greater speed and at early stages of economic and social development than in westernized countries [3,10]. Simultaneously, westernization through mass and social media exposure that equates thinness with attractiveness and social acceptance [11] had led to disordered eating behavior in some population segments, particularly in young women [10,12]. It is widely reported that regular physical activity reduces the risk of a number of medical conditions, and contributes to personal wellbeing. Overall, there is suicient evidence in the literature to show that level of physical activity among societies is inluenced by beliefs, psychosocial status and self-eicacy. Signiicant increase in the level of sedentary lifestyles, especially among Arabic women, demonstrates a growing need to understand how social restraints imposed upon women afect their health and their response to health promotion programs [13]. When it comes to the mass production and consumption of food,