These results place Jordan within a worrying regional trend in the health of adolescents, but they do not yet allow it to be given an accurate ranking among regional countries; scientific comparison requires unifying the years of surveys, age groups, definitions, and methodologies. However, the magnitude of the problem is clear: we are facing early risk factors that may later turn into an increasing burden of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, in addition to their effects on mental health, self-confidence, and academic achievement.
The Ministries of Health and Education, with the support of the World Health Organization, deserve credit for completing the survey and announcing its most prominent results. The announced measures regarding school cafeterias, the prohibition of carbonated drinks, energy drinks, and some processed foods, and the preservation of sports classes, morning parades, and motor activities, represent a necessary beginning. However, their success will not be measured by the number of official books and committees, but by what actually changes in the student's food, movement, and weight over the coming years.
Here we return to a broader issue: the value of the health survey is not completed by collecting data, but by publishing it in a timely manner and turning it into a decision. Important surveys have been conducted in Jordan, such as the Global Tobacco Survey among adolescents and the National Gradual Survey of Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases, but the delay in announcing some results or the difficulty in accessing their detailed reports deprives the decision-maker, researcher, media, and citizen of their right to knowledge, and delays the response to the problem.
What is required today is to publish the full survey report, including the sample size and methodology, differences by gender, governorate, and economic and social status, and then to adopt a baseline and annual measurable indicators for physical activity, school cafeterias, and healthy weight. The family, school, municipalities, and media should also be involved; because obesity does not start in the clinic, nor is it treated there alone.
Honesty with the numbers is not an insult to the image of the country, but a condition for improving it. When we announce the results of the surveys clearly and in a timely manner, and link them to specific plans, responsibilities, and deadlines, the data turns from papers stored in drawers into a tool for protecting the health of our children and the future of Jordan.
