Nestlé Middle East announces regional bone health initiative

The announcement was made by Mr. Jean-Louis Chaumeil, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Middle East during a cooperation signing session with the Pan Arab Osteoporosis Society (PAOS), which took place as part of the initiative.

The 'Nestlé Strong & Healthy Bones' initiative addresses the need to propagate bone health knowledge in the region to help prevent Osteoporosis. This need is reflected by the high number of women thought to be at risk of bone fracture, according to recent studies. The initiative will see several education programs and active campaigns rolled out across the region in the coming months.

"Nestlé has 140-years of expertise in nutrition, health and wellness which have always been put in the service of consumers. Our strength comes from a very well founded research heritage having the world's largest private nutrition and food research capability, our strategic alliances with scientific organizations and professional health bodies, and a wealth of knowledge of consumers' requirements and preferences when it comes to food and nutrition choices,"

said Mr. Jean-Louis Chaumeil.

"Today, we are confident that our partnership with the Pan Arab Osteoporosis Society will bring consumers in the Middle East more valuable resources and services to help them better understand the importance of building and maintaining strong bones in preventing bone disease, and help them translate such knowledge into positive lifestyle changes to ensure lifelong bone health and mobility," he added.

Commenting on the occasion, Dr. Gemma Adib, President of the Pan Arab Osteoporosis Society said, "Most recent studies have pointed out the prevalence of low bone mass among women in the region, as 35% of women over the age of 50 in the Middle East suffer from Osteoporosis. Raising awareness about the problem among the general public and health professionals alike is one of our objectives at PAOS."

"We are pleased to partner with a leader in nutrition and wellness like Nestlé for this purpose, and we're positive that such a partnership will help extend our reach and enable us to achieve better results in terms of equipping the largest number of people with the right knowledge and tools to prevent Osteoporosis," Dr. Gemma added.

In addition to imparting knowledge and practical information, Nestlé will continue to offer consumers products with high nutritional value, innovated through expert nutritional research and deep understanding of consumers' requirements. According to Mr. Kumaran Nowuram, Business Executive Manager- Dairy at Nestlé Middle East, understanding the requirements of women in the region in particular is an area of strength for Nestlé.

"Nestlé Middle East has realized the need for products that could help women maintain strong bones, and has therefore developed the leading adult powdered milk NESVITA pro-Bones, which provides women with the combination of nutrients necessary for bone health. At Nestlé we encourage our consumers to follow a balanced diet coupled with a healthy lifestyle to prevent bone disease," said Mr. Nowuram.