The United States is spending $75 billion every year to treat weight problems...

At Ukmedix News we have noticed the countries in the Mediterranean region are suffering greatly from increased levels of obesity. It appears that with modernisation a lot of the traditional foods that make up the Mediterranean diet, such as fruit, vegetables, fish and lots of natural produce are being put aside in favour of processed and high calorie density junk food.

For example the little island of Malta in the Mediterranean with only 400,000 inhabitants estimates that it is costing over 80 million euros every year to deal with obesity and all the illnesses that come along with it. Malta is considered to be one of the most obese nations in the Med as well as in the EU and is struggling to meet its financial requirements in the health sector. To give you an idea of what obesity is costing the world you just have to know that it is reckoned that the United States is spending $75 billion every year to treat weight problems in its own country and that the European Union spent 33 billion Euros last year on the same problem.

The most important factor to remember is that children who are obese almost always end up staying obese as adults. The figures show that around 80 percent of obese children stay that way all of their lives. The increase in the weight of children and adults in Malta is directly linked to the change in eating habits of the population. Since the arrival of McDonnell’s and other fast food chains the number of overweight and obese people has rocketed especially in lower socio-economic groups.

The Maltese government has launched an initiative called ‘Leap’ That is designed to educate children between the ages of five and sixteen about nutrition in the hope that they will stay fit and healthy all of their lives.