Under the patronage of Professor Ahmed El-Menshawy, President of Assiut University, the Community Service and Environmental Development Sector at the Faculty of Medicine organized today, Tuesday, January 20, the activities of the Tenth Community Environmental Day, which came this year under the title: "Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners: What They Have and What They Have from a Medical and Health Perspective", under the supervision of: Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Adawi, Vice President for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, Dr. Alaa Attia, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Chairman of the Board of Directors of University Hospitals, and Dr. Huda Makhlouf. Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine for Community Service and Environmental Development, and Dr. Medhat El-Araby, Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine, and Rapporteur of the Day.

The activities witnessed the participation of Dr. Khaled Abdulaziz, Director of the Main University Hospital, along with a number of professors, faculty members, assistant staff, interns, and staff, as part of the university's keenness to promote health awareness and community service.

Professor Ahmed El-Menshawy stressed that the organization of the tenth Community Environmental Day of the Faculty of Medicine reflects the university's role in serving the community and spreading health awareness, especially in issues related to nutrition and public health, pointing out that the discussion of the topic of sugar and artificial sweeteners comes at an important time with the increase in non-communicable diseases, stressing the university's keenness to provide evidence-based scientific messages that contribute to improving lifestyles and promoting health prevention among citizens.

Professor Mohamed Adawy stressed that raising health awareness about nutrition and public health issues is an urgent necessity in light of the remarkable rise in the rates of non-communicable diseases, especially diabetes, obesity, and metabolic disorders, pointing out that the dissemination of health culture is a key pillar to achieve sustainable development and improve the quality of life.

For his part, Dr. Alaa Attia explained that the College of Medicine and university hospitals are keen to keep pace with scientific developments in the fields of treatment and community service, stressing that the organization of this scientific day comes from the leading societal role of the college, especially that sugar and artificial sweeteners are an essential part of the contemporary dietary pattern, which necessitates discussing their health effects in the short and long term, and supporting conscious and evidence-based dietary decisions.

Dr. Huda Makhlouf stressed the continuation of the organization of the activities of the Environmental Day with the support of the university administration and the college, pointing out its importance in environmental and community awareness, and highlighting sugar consumption patterns and their various health effects.

Dr. Khaled Abdel Aziz pointed out that there is permanent cooperation between university hospitals and the Community Service and Environmental Development Sector at the College of Medicine to support health awareness efforts, explaining that the theme of the Environmental Day is one of the vital issues that affect the health of the community, and contributes to educating citizens about the dangers of excessive consumption of sugar and artificial sweeteners.

In the same context, Dr. Medhat Al-Arabi explained that the activities of the Environmental Day included several specialized scientific lectures, including:

His lecture is entitled: "Sugar Substitute Sweeteners: Health Risks and Metabolic Effects Supported by Scientific Evidence". A lecture by Dr. Maryam Rushdi Al-Khayyat, Assistant Professor of Public Health, entitled: "Types and Characteristics of Sugar Sweeteners in the Market". A lecture by Dr. Doaa Mohamed Abdel Rahman, Assistant Professor of Forensic Medicine, entitled: "Potential Toxic Damages in the Short and Long Term of Alternative Sugar Sweeteners."

The activities also included a lecture by Dr. Marwa Abdel Haq, Lecturer of Sugar Industry Technology at the Faculty of Sugar Industry Technology, entitled: "Sugar Cultivation and its Consumption Patterns in Egypt Compared to Global Rates." A lecture by Dr. Islam Mahmoud, Lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture, entitled: "The Quality of the Sugar Industry in Egypt: Health Standards, Control and Quality Systems, and Food Safety Challenges."

On the sidelines of the events, a range of health services were provided to the participants, including measuring body composition using the InBody device, conducting random and cumulative glucose tests, and measuring blood pressure, as part of the university's support for its societal and preventive role and promoting the culture of early detection and health care.