THE EUROPEAN Commission has presented the results of a public consultation on promoting healthy diets and physical activity, with special focus on the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases.
According to European statistics, around 14 million children in Europe are currently overweight, with three million of them obese. Existing scientific evidence has indicated that obesity is a risk factor for many serious conditions including heart disease, type-2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke and certain types of cancer, bringing this to the forefront of urgent public health issues requiring co-ordinated action at EU level.
The European consultation had been launched with the publication of a Green Paper last year, which put forward various policy options for stakeholders across Europe to take into consideration.
Over 260 responses were received from governments across Europe, the public health community, the food industry, universities and the general public.
Taking into consideration the complexity of the issue, most respondents called for a multi-sector approach, involving action and coherence across EU policies.
They also requested special attention to be paid to children and youths where a rapid increase in obesity has been observed, and for better consumer information on nutrition, which will be consistent and evidence based.
Excess weight and obesity levels are increasing at an alarming rate in Europe, with up to 27 per cent of men and 38 per cent of women now considered to be obese depending on the EU member state they are residents of.
The number of overweight children is also growing rapidly, rising by 400,000 a year.
Poor nutrition and insufficient physical activity are among the leading causes of avoidable death in Europe. Death related to obesity is estimated to account for as much as seven per cent of total healthcare costs in the EU.
Among respondents’ suggestions to help consumers make healthy dietary choices were to encourage fruit and vegetable consumption, limit total fat and/or saturated fat intake, promote a balanced diet, increase consumption of wholegrain or fibre-rich products, reduce consumption of sugar and soft drinks, reduce salt intake and reduce portion sizes.
To improve the nutritional value of school meals, respondents suggested education programmes promoting a healthy diet for children, offering free or subsidised fruit, vegetables and drinking water.
According to the consultation’s results, to encourage healthy lifestyles at work it is necessary to increase the availability of healthy foods in canteens or in vending machines, reduce the availability of foods that are high in energy (fat and sugar) or in large portion sizes, promote sport activity or daily physical activity in or around the workplace or encourage walking or cycling to and from work.
Obesity in Cyprus
IN CYPRUS, one in 10 children are obese, a percentage similar to that of the US and higher to Europe’s.
According to Clinical Dietician Katia Kyriacou, adult obesity has been increasing in Cyprus over the past few years, both in men and women.
In 1989-1990, the World Health Organisation carried out a survey on obesity in Cypriot men and women, which showed that 19 per cent of men were obese and 24 per cent of women.
“A recent epidemiological study for diabetes, carried out in 2003-2004, estimated that 33,9 per cent of Cypriots were overweight and 23.2 were obese,” said Kyriacou.
The Cyprus Dietetic Association (CDA) is now in the process of conducting an epidemiological study for obesity and nutritional habits of Cypriot adults, she added, and the pilot study of 100 subjects indicated that 40 per cent of Cypriots are overweight and 26.7 per cent are obese.
“This shows how obesity in Cypriot adults has been increasing and is now at very high levels,” Kyriacou explained.
According to the CDA, obesity appears to be hereditary. “The child of one obese parent has a 40 per cent chance of becoming obese, while a child of two obese parents has an 80 per cent chance of becoming obese,” read an announcement prepared by CDA Clinical Paediatric Dietician Dr Dona Chileti.
But what dieticians are still not aware of is whether this is because fat storage is influenced by genes or if it is just down to common eating and activity habits.
Diagnosing obesity in children isn’t easy, as a child is constantly growing and its calorific needs aren’t the same as those of adults.
Body weight alone is not enough to determine if a minor is obese; weight should be combined with height and age.
For example, a quarter of a six-month-old baby is made of fat and this is completely natural. For this reason, a diagnosis needs to be made by a specialist.
Because children are constantly growing, they need more calories than adults. However, because their stomach is small, they need to intake these calories by eating regular small meals.
This goes for overweight kids as well, who should be encouraged to eat in-between nutritional meals in order to avoid craving high calorie foods such as crisps and chocolates.
Dr Chileti advises parents to put forward a good example by eating healthy and exercising regularly. “Children mimic their parents. [Parents should] give the good example by eating healthily and controlling bad habits.”
This can be done, she added, by avoiding frying food, removing fat from meats and not adding extra sugar to drinks or sweets.
Finally she urges parents to encourage exercise from a young age. “Allow children to be free in their first few months to run around the garden, park, to swim and play with other children.”
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