Minister Memişoğlu: Health is not only achieved through the good implementation of healthcare professionals or health policies.

Memişoğlu stated that epidemics dominated the agenda in the 1900s, while diseases like circulatory, cardiovascular, and stroke were more prevalent in the 2000s. He added, "We need to renew our perspective on health accordingly. This workshop is a major effort on how to establish a healthy lifestyle for the next decade."

Memişoğlu pointed out that rural life has been steadily declining in recent years, continuing: "What has this lifestyle changed? It has dramatically altered nutrition, movement, and the impact on people, from air pollution to traffic and stress. This demonstrates that we need to adapt our perspective on health and our predictions accordingly. With this perspective, we need to chart a new course. Health isn't just achieved through the effective implementation of healthcare professionals or health policies. It's achieved through the contributions of society itself, its institutions, and every segment of society. No matter how hard we try, if our environment isn't healthy enough, our food isn't healthy, sports and exercise facilities aren't contributing to our health, and most importantly, if you don't contribute to your health yourself, it's very difficult to stay healthy. We need to teach people how to achieve this."

Memişoğlu emphasized that Türkiye offers the best healthcare services in the world today and said that an active lifestyle should be adopted to create a healthy society.

Drawing attention to the sugar content in foods, Memişoğlu noted: "Today, we consume foods incredibly high in sugar. We perceive exercise and exercise as if it were a one-day-a-week astroturf match. As a result, 75 percent of us are overweight, and unfortunately, we struggle with strokes, heart attacks, and vascular diseases. Therefore, we must first teach society these habits to its own bodies. We must teach it not to consume artificial foods. We must wean society off bad habits like smoking. We must create a health model that protects, develops, and promotes. Today, we will create a healthy Türkiye together."

Minister Memişoğlu answered journalists' questions following the 3rd Healthy Türkiye Century-Healthy Life Plan Workshop.

When asked about the steps to be taken regarding the Healthy Life Plan, Memişoğlu said that it is necessary to learn how to stay healthy without losing it, with a health model that protects, develops and produces.

Memişoğlu emphasized that health policies should be developed in this direction, saying, "We need to educate and raise awareness in society about staying healthy, taking care of our bodies without losing them, and how to manage them. Therefore, we need to develop a 10-year action plan within a plan, in collaboration with all our institutions and stakeholders, to develop a policy that will protect society's health. In this system, we need to develop an action plan that will involve not only the Ministry of Health but also society and all its institutions in collaboration. If your diet and living environment are unhealthy, if you have high stress levels, if you are inactive, and if you don't have sufficient space for movement, you have no chance of staying healthy."

Stating that society should first demand staying healthy, Memişoğlu said that this should become a policy.

Memişoğlu said, "Why did we take action? We measured our weight and height. So that society would be aware of this and demand it. Because society needs to know that being overweight puts us at risk for all kinds of illnesses, from joint problems to heart disease. They need to know that smokers are more likely to develop lung cancer, shortness of breath, lung diseases, and that their quality of sleep and life will decrease. We're developing a policy on preventative health. Why? So that society is aware. We're working to create a roadmap for this action plan with both institutions and communities."

Memişoğlu stated that they want society to demand low-sugar foods rather than ban high-sugar foods, and that they are working on legislative work on this issue.

Pointing out that one-third of society smokes, Memişoğlu said, "We're actually trying to develop a policy to educate that third, along with two-thirds, and encourage them to quit. But there's also the issue of whether we do this in conjunction with industry. When you demand this, both society and industry, as well as manufacturers, will act accordingly. Therefore, we're preparing an action plan to primarily raise public culture and awareness."

Memişoğlu stated the following: "I'm saying it clearly and directly. From now on, Türkiye's priority is not treatment, but staying healthy. We're providing the best treatment in the world. Today, Turkey is practically number one in healthcare. In terms of service, quality, and accessibility, but we're treating the disease. They're holding these meetings to raise public awareness of staying healthy without the disease. We have all kinds of stakeholders here, universities, and people from all over Türkiye. We're holding a workshop to develop our policies, a 10-year health and action plan, and a strategic plan for our future, all in light of science. We'll draft this very soon. We'll draw Türkiye's healthy roadmap, and I'm saying it very clearly: we will have no tolerance for both cigarettes and sugary foods."

When asked whether there would be a regulation in the new legislative year regarding reducing the fructose content in food and beverages, Memişoğlu said, "We will submit a legislative study regarding cigarettes, nutrition, food, and supplements to Parliament, but this will be in 2026."