Fat Europe, Doing Something About Obesity
November 11th 2006 00:01
Fat Europe, Doing Something About Obesity
We’ve all heard how much danger the U.S and now Australia are in regarding obesity, and specifically, childhood obesity. But now, Europe has acknowledged that they too are part of the epidemic and are doing something about it.
The New Scientist reports that Europe has started the world’s first international charter for tackling obesity. This charter involves 53 countries and will be unveiled in Istanbul, Turkey. Francesco Branca is the World Health Organisation’s European adviser on nutrition and played a big role in the development of the charter. He believes that the agreement is ‘…a milestone in the fight against obesity.’
The World Health Organisation says that Europe’s obesity problem is just as bad as the US. And if the current trends continue to prevail, a tenth of the children living in Europe will be obese by 2010, whereas only one fifth were so in 1996. And if nothing is done about the issue soon, almost 150 million Europeans across all ages will be obese by 2010, 25 million more than 4 years ago.
Once weight is gained in an adult it is difficult to lose, as many dieters will tell you. And what’s worse, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes (or adult-onset diabetes) is dramatically increased if people are overweight.
The charter won’t be able to force governments to do anything, but they will be encouraging governments to improve exercise and diet; especially in school; make healthy food more available, regulate junk food ads aimed at kids and counsel people who have problems with overeating.
Europe’s smart answer to the obesity epidemic will hopefully yield great results and potentially save lives from obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome (from obesity around the waist), sleep apnoea and a range of psychological disorders – from self-esteem issues to body dysmorphic disorder, which involves normal-sized people believing their body is hideous.
Original article from The New Scientist
Image part of GNU Free Documentation License
We’ve all heard how much danger the U.S and now Australia are in regarding obesity, and specifically, childhood obesity. But now, Europe has acknowledged that they too are part of the epidemic and are doing something about it.
The New Scientist reports that Europe has started the world’s first international charter for tackling obesity. This charter involves 53 countries and will be unveiled in Istanbul, Turkey. Francesco Branca is the World Health Organisation’s European adviser on nutrition and played a big role in the development of the charter. He believes that the agreement is ‘…a milestone in the fight against obesity.’
The World Health Organisation says that Europe’s obesity problem is just as bad as the US. And if the current trends continue to prevail, a tenth of the children living in Europe will be obese by 2010, whereas only one fifth were so in 1996. And if nothing is done about the issue soon, almost 150 million Europeans across all ages will be obese by 2010, 25 million more than 4 years ago.
Once weight is gained in an adult it is difficult to lose, as many dieters will tell you. And what’s worse, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes (or adult-onset diabetes) is dramatically increased if people are overweight.
The charter won’t be able to force governments to do anything, but they will be encouraging governments to improve exercise and diet; especially in school; make healthy food more available, regulate junk food ads aimed at kids and counsel people who have problems with overeating.
Europe’s smart answer to the obesity epidemic will hopefully yield great results and potentially save lives from obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome (from obesity around the waist), sleep apnoea and a range of psychological disorders – from self-esteem issues to body dysmorphic disorder, which involves normal-sized people believing their body is hideous.
Original article from The New Scientist
Image part of GNU Free Documentation License
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Comment by Anonymous
1/10 = 1/2 * 1/5... in other words one fifth is twice as many as a tenth.
Was that what you meant to say or was it just that I misunderstood you? Those number facts are poorly constructed... or something.
Comment by RachDegab
Thanks for picking that up Anon!
RachDegab