another 400,000 children will become obese in the EU every year.

The huge European Union initiative to get children to eat fruit and vegetables is going ahead with practically every single one of the EU 27 nations signing up to take part. The idea is that millions of schoolchildren will be able to get easy access to free fruits and vegetables and this is hoped to significantly impact on the obesity problem facing Europe.

Under the initiative countries who sign up to take part will be asked to contribute with state funds and this will be matched by subsidies provided by the EU. Individual countries will also be required to set up campaigns that educate and raise awareness of the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables as well as providing general nutritional advice.

The European Union’s obesity problem is not insignificant with an estimated 22 million children classified as overweight and over 5 million classified as obese. The figures are rising fast and it is estimated that another 400,000 children will become obese in the EU every year.

At Ukmedix News we believe that the easy availability of fresh fruits and vegetables is underestimated as a tool for beating obesity. We believe that this initiative which has been avidly promoted by the Agriculture Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel will help children to identify healthy eating habits. Children who get to their teenage years overweight or obese are statistically likely to stay that way for the rest of their lives and the best way to beat obesity is to nip it in the bud.

Only three EU nations declined to take part in this scheme, [Sweden, Latvia and Finland], which has a total budget of 90 million euros.  They have however been told that they can take part in the scheme at a later date if they want.