Maltese most obese children in EU

Maltese children aged between seven and 11 are the most obese and overweight in the European Union, data published in Brussels shows.

The data is included in a briefing paper prepared by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) in conjunction with the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) as the EU launches a new initiative against obesity.

According to the briefing paper, surveys across Europe show overweight and obesity levels among children in southern Europe to be higher than their northern European counterparts. This because the traditional Mediterranean diet gives way to more processed foods rich in fat, sugar and salt.

Malta tops the list among children aged 7 - 11, with more than 35 per cent of children in this age bracket considered to be overweight. More alarming is the fact that 12 per cent of Maltese children are categorised as obese.

Among adults, the situation is also very bad, with figures of overweight persons in Malta superior to the situation in the US, regarded as the most obese country in the world.

The briefing paper says that Malta, Sicily, Gibraltar and Crete, as well as Spain, Portugal and Italy report overweight and obesity levels exceeding 30 per cent among children aged 7 - 11. In addition, England, Ireland, Cyprus, Sweden and Greece report levels above 20 per cent while France, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands report overweight levels of 10 to 20 per cent among the same age group.

With regard to adults, the briefing paper states that a marked trend towards increasing levels of adult overweight and obesity can be found throughout Europe, although there are variations in prevalence. Obesity rates range from 10 to 27 per cent among men and up to 38 per cent in women across the EU. In the United States, obesity stands at 28 per cent for men and 34 per cent among women, although this rises to as much as 50 per cent among black women, including a very significant component of morbid obesity.

In parts of Europe, the combination of reported overweight and obesity in men exceeds even the 67 per cent prevalence found in the USA's most recent measured survey. "Finland, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Malta all have overweight rates which surpass that of the USA," the report says.

In a press conference in Brussels launching the EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, Markos Kyprianou, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, pledged to act together with industry and consumer groups, health experts and political leaders to tackle Europe's obesity epidemic.

He described the current situation as alarming, with the number of EU schoolchildren who are overweight rising by about 400,000 per year. He said that the data from the IOTF indicates that the extent of Europe's obesity problem may have been underestimated due to under reporting in some countries and that more than 200 million adults across the EU may be overweight or obese.

The European Platform for Action on Diet and Physical Activity brings together the key EU-level representatives of the food, retail, catering and advertising industries, consumer organisations and health NGOs.

The Platform held its first meeting on Tuesday with the participation of founder members Mr Kyprianou, Mars Di Bartolomeo, Luxembourg's Minister of Health and MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz, chairman of the Parliament's environment, public health and food safety committee, along with representatives of the business, civil society and public sector organisations.

The EU Commission said that over the coming months, members of the Platform will put forward action plans detailing the activities they will undertake to promote healthier diets or encourage people to take more exercise.

The EU Platform will aim to support national and local level initiatives through the actions of its members and help to catalyse new initiatives across the EU. The Platform will also act as a forum within which stakeholders can scrutinise each others' actions to fight obesity and verify whether commitments made are actually being delivered.