Germany to Oust
Obesity
Reported
July 04, 2008
Not to be out done, Germany has eaten, drank, and lazed
its masses into matching the American people as the heavyweights of the
world—both countries weighing in with the highest numbers of overweight and
obese people. According to government statistics, two-thirds of all German
men between the ages of 18 and 80 are overweight; almost half of all women
have a weight problem, and more than 1 million of their youth show symptoms
of eating disorders.
The World Health Organization reports that obesity in European (EU)
countries has more than tripled since 1980, with particular risk pointing to
the children, now classifying over 21 million of them as obese. The
International Association for the Study of Obesity found that among EU
countries, Germany out weighted them all, with 58.9 percent of women and
75.4 percent of men tipping the scales at unhealthy levels. These numbers
add up to about 37 million adults and 2 million children and teenagers
suffering from some kind of weight related disorders.
The German government has embarked on a bulge fighting program—Fit not
Fat—prepared by Health Minister Ulla Schmidt in cooperation with Food,
Agriculture and Consumer Protection Minister Horst Seehofer. The program's
initiative is to cut diseases related to obesity drastically by the year
2020, and it comes with a cost of 30 million euros ($46.7 million) for the
next two years. The government described the fight against obesity and
obesity-related illnesses as "one of the biggest political challenges for
public health and nutrition in the coming decades."
In all EU countries the overall consumption of fruits and vegetables is low,
the intake of fat is high, and the consumption of cereals has fallen by a
quarter since the 1960s. The health ministry bills these poor nutritional
habits and lack of exercise as the main contributor for the ever-growing
cost of nutrition-related illnesses—amounting to 70 billion euros ($95.3
billion) annually, or 30 percent of Germany's overall health costs. One in
every five women and one in every seven men suffer from chronic back pain
caused from being overweight or obese.
Most Germans know what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, they are just not
actively pursuing it—"That's why we need a plan that would involve
everybody," Schmidt said. The government's battle against the bulge will
call on politicians, scientists, health-care providers, unions and the food
industry to help educate and promote healthier lifestyle approaches. This
would involve education on healthy eating and physical activity, tougher
standards on school food programs, better product labeling by the food
industry, encouraging game manufacturers to develop products that promote
more activity, and reduced advertising by the makers of sweets and junk food
that target children.
EU's top public health official Markos Kyprianou said, ideally he hoped the
food companies would voluntarily cut down on sugar, fats and salt, and fully
inform consumers about any health risks associated with their products, but
stressed that the 2010 review would decide whether strict legislation will
be needed. "If we don't act, today's overweight children will be tomorrow's
heart attack victims," said Kyprianou.
