Europe Is Getting Fatter

There are estimated to be more than 21 million overweight children...

According to European Union official statistics over fifty percent of all adults in the EU are obese or overweight. The figures that were recently released by the head of the EU's public health body, Markos Kyprianou, show that Europe's obesity problem is not dissapearing and is in fact actually getting worse.

Mr Kyprianou said that the usual factors were to blame including diets that were high in fat and sugar as well as an increasing trend of lack of exercise. He also noted that many people and organisations were to be blamed for the increasing weight problem of Europe such as the health authorities, the food manufacturers as well as the people themselves who continued to eat too much. He singled out special mention for children who he said were getting obese at even earlier ages. In all out of 27 EU countries there are estimated to be more than 21 million overweight children and this figure is apparently growing at over 400,000 each year.

So what is being done about it? Well Mr. Kyprianou said that he had obtained promises from many food manufacturers around Europe to produce and to market healthier food but even he admitted that this was pretty futile as it was mostly the consumers that determined what they wanted to eat.  It is becoming more obvious that traditional Mediterranean diets containing fish and other healthy foods like fruit and vegetables are becoming unfashionable and children and adults are found to be eating more and more food that is full of sugar and fat as well as fast food that is notoriously high in calories. Mr. Kyprianou said that the European Union was also proposing to be tougher on the advertising of unhealthy food and said that they would promote and try to educate youngsters to get exercise.

At Ukmedix News we do not mean to be cynical but Europe's obesity problem will not just dissapear on its own. If they take lessons from the world's most obese nation America, they should realise that light-hearted initiatives and getting promises from big businesses is not the way forward. Eating habits are fostered at an early age and the most effective ways of getting people to eat healthily is to educate them and to give them quality information about nutrition and eating. Children must be made aware of exactly what they are consuming in fast food restaurants and exercise is something that should be integral to all school curriculums. The cost to nations of its citizens being overweight is huge and therefore any money spent getting people to slim down is definitely an investment in the country.