Obesity Epidemic- European Commission Proposals
The European Commission (EC) is moving ahead on a range of white paper proposals to tackle the obesity epidemic. It calls on the food industry to introduce self regulation to offer healthier foods and advertise more responsibly. A review in 2010 will decided if legislation needs to be brought in to force the industry to act.
The EC said what consumers eat is their business, but they need to see more healthy food in the shops, particularly with less fat, salt and sugar, and be given the facts in order to make better informed choices about the food they buy and eat.
The white paper says that 50 per cent of European adults are either overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity in many European countries has more than trebled since 1980, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Europeans consume 300 calories a day more now than they did 30 years ago, and fat is a higher part of the energy intake than it was then.
EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said:
"The rise of obesity makes improving the diets and physical activity levels of Europeans a top public health priority for the EU in the years ahead."
Research shows that one third of Europeans do not exercise; with sedentary lifestyles on the rise, the average European now spends over 5 hours a day sitting down.
The prevalence and rise of child obesity is also causing concern. Three million children in Europe are obese, and this figure is rising by 85,000 a year. And more than 21 million children are overweight, with 400,000 joining this statistic every year. This adds eventually to the growing adult obesity crisis because overweight children generally retain their excess weight into adulthood.
"If we don't act, today's overweight children will be tomorrow's heart attack victims," said Kyprianou.
The white paper points out that action to improve nutrition and increase physical exercise is needed because six of the seven leading risk factors for ill health in Europeans come from poor diet and lack of physical activity. For instance, obesity is a risk factor for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and some cancers.
"What consumers eat is up to them, but they should be able to make informed choices, and have a range of healthy options to choose from. That is why the Commission is reviewing the options for nutrition labelling, and calling on industry to advertise responsibly and reduce levels of salt, fats and sugar in food products," added Kyprianou.
The EC also calls for more action from partnerships between private and public sector organizations, including consumer organizations. It has also clarified a range of Commission policies to make it easier to change the focus of EU policies on health and food safety, regional funding, transport, sport and research.
The EC wants to see:
- Stronger advertising codes that build on the the current European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA).
- More effort by food producers and retailers to make different foods available, "reformulated" with health in mind.
- Revised nutrition labels.
- More promotion of fruit and vegetables.
- More research on the potential of changing the food available in the shops to improve diet.
- More sport organizations advertising and promoting physical activity, especially to children.
The EC is creating a new high level group focusing on nutrition, overweight and obesity related health issues with representatives from each member state.
A review in 2010 will assess the impact of the actions, which effectively gives actors like the food industry three years to make a difference before the enforcement route is considered.
Some groups say that leaving the food industry to regulate itself is not enough, that legislation should be brought in now. For instance, the European consumer group BEUC would prefer the EC to introduce binding regulation on food labels and advertising.
Written by: Catharine Paddock
Writer: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Obesity Epidemic