By Elinor Blair - 15th March 2005
Diabetes, aspiratory problems and cancer are some of the diseases which a new EU focus group on health plans to tackle.
The group, made up of health professionals, stakeholders from the food and advertising industries, consumer organisations and health NGOs will primarily aim to address Europe’s obesity problem.
At Tuesday's launch of the EU platform for action on diet, physical activity and health, health commissioner Markos Kyprianou said that he was “worried about increasing obesity in Europe”.
He said that the platform was created to “encourage a healthy diet and physical activity” and added that people need to “get back to more exercising”.
Luxembourg health minister Mars Di Bartolomeo said that he wanted policies which were more pro-active and added that the figures of childhood obesity were “disturbing”.
Members of the group have agreed to devote more resources and effort in five specific areas which aim to reverse the obesity trend says the commission.
Consumer information, education, physical activity promotion, marketing and advertising as well as food composition and the availability of healthy options will all be key targets for food producers.
But a blanket ban on advertising of ‘unhealthy’ foods will not solve the problem of childhood obesity said an industry spokesman.
Kyprianou also added caution to banning or removing products from people’s diets and MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz argued that “in politics you have to be careful not to go too far”.
“We cannot absolve parents of their responsibility [in making children eat healthily],” he said, “you cannot shuffle these issues off to politicians.”
Members of the platform are due to put forward action plans within the coming months outlining action and initiatives they plan to pursue.
The European Commission plans to put forward a green paper on nutrition and physical activity later this year.
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