Health & Beauty

July 24 is the "International Self-Care Day". The China Non-Prescription Drug Association, a member of the International Self-Care Alliance, launched a health education activity with the theme of "Healthy Decade: My Health is My Master". This activity aims to further carry out health knowledge publicity and popularization activities, advocate the public to be the first responsible person for their own health, and help improve residents' health literacy.

Bai Huiliang, the former president of the China OTC Drug Association, told reporters on the same day: "In the past ten years, China's OTC drug industry has undergone dramatic changes. In addition to the expansion of the market size, the increase in varieties, and the improvement of services from pharmacies and licensed pharmacists, preventive measures such as vitamins and nutritional supplements have also taken place. There has also been a significant increase in sexual over-the-counter drugs. This further reflects the increasing demand for self-care by the public. The "'Healthy China 2030' Planning Outline" advocates that everyone is the first responsible person for their own health, hoping to inspire residents to love health and pursue A healthy passion to live a healthy lifestyle and get sick less often.”

According to He Yong, general manager of the China region of a related multinational company that advocates self-care, in the past ten years, the overall development trend of China's consumer health market has shown four development trends - rejuvenation, initiative, diversification and digitalization. "Compared with the past, today's consumers are more committed to 'my health is my decision' and advocate the right to know and make decisions about health."

It is understood that with the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, the public pays more attention to health, and self-health awareness and self-health management capabilities are also continuously improving. The health concept of "preventing a disease before it can be cured" is being widely accepted. From passive treatment in the past to active prevention now, "my health, I call the shots" is becoming a new trend in health.

The health of women and children is the cornerstone of national health and represents the health level of a country. Han Hui, a researcher at the Maternal and Child Health Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, pointed out in an interview on the 24th: "The implementation of the comprehensive birth defect prevention and control capacity improvement plan is a key part of improving the whole process of prenatal and postnatal care services. The prevention and control system of birth defects at all stages of pregnancy, neonatal period and children should pay attention to the 'early 1000 days of life', and strive to prevent birth defects from occurring or rarely occur."

It is reported that in order to further protect the health of women and children, at the end of April this year, the "14th Five-Year" National Health Plan issued by the State Council emphasized the need to improve the whole-process service for prenatal and postnatal care.

According to reports, in the past ten years, the information network of maternal and child health has become denser and wider. The gap between the health status of women and children in China between urban and rural areas has further narrowed, and the fairness and accessibility of maternal and child health services have been continuously enhanced. In 2021, China has been assessed by the World Health Organization as "one of the ten countries with high performance in maternal and child health in the world".

In terms of nutrition, officials, experts and scholars are also concerned about monitoring the "early 1,000 days of life" and reducing the occurrence of birth defects in newborns. Professor Yu Kang, director of the Department of Clinical Nutrition at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said: "The lack of folic acid may cause problems such as neural tube defects in neonates, thereby increasing the risk of birth defects. During the peri-pregnancy and breast-feeding period, expectant mothers should be on the basis of a reasonable diet. Compound supplementation of micronutrients should be an important part of the overall nutritional management of the peri-pregnancy period.”

In addition to special groups such as pregnant women who need to pay attention to their own nutritional health, healthy people should also pay attention to their nutritional balance, because eating enough and drinking enough does not mean that their daily nutritional needs are sufficient. Professor Yu Kang introduced: "The lack or imbalance of micronutrients is also a problem that the public needs to pay attention to. Although the lack or imbalance of micronutrients does not manifest itself in signs or symptoms, if it persists for a long time, it is very easy to cause damage to health outcomes. "

In April this year, the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2022" was officially released. The new version of the guidelines condensed a number of basic guidelines for a balanced and reasonable diet. Professor Yu Kang summed up this highly: "We must maintain a variety of food for three meals a day and mix them reasonably; we should consume 12 kinds of food per day and 25 kinds of food per week. Maintain a balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight. At the same time, eat less food. Salt, less sugar, less oil and limited alcohol, eat more fruits and vegetables, dairy products, drink enough water, learn to cook, and read labels.”

Professor Gu Shenbing, President of Shanghai Health Education Association and Deputy Director of the Institute of Health Communication of Fudan University, believes: "The improvement of health literacy is inseparable from the publicity and popularization of health education. The society includes the participation of responsible enterprises, and finally it depends on the actual actions of everyone. Only when more and more people participate, can we build a strong information resource network and let this healthy information resource network radiate to the society. All corners, including remote and vulnerable groups, will eventually achieve national health." It is reported that at present, the overall health literacy level of the Chinese people has shown a steady improvement, from 8.8% in 2012 to 25.4% in 2021, completing health care ahead of schedule In 2022, China's action will reach the phased target of 22%.