Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-24-Speech-3-384"
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, before opening the debate about the report on which we will be voting tomorrow, I should like to take this opportunity to say some words of thanks. I would begin by thanking my colleague Adriana Poli Bortone, now a senator of the Italian Republic, from whom I inherited the draft report and an already detailed, meticulous study of the topic; next my staff, who have supported me enthusiastically and conscientiously in furthering my exploration and analysis of the phenomenon; and finally the shadow rapporteurs, whose commitment undoubtedly contributed to the adoption of the text in the Committee on the Environment, with a virtually unanimous cross-party consensus.
Ladies and gentlemen, when this draft text was entrusted to me, I asked myself what my aim should be as rapporteur in carrying forward a study of this kind. I found an answer in the strategic nature of the document, which showed me the two pillars on which I came to base my work: firstly completeness, so as not to leave any gaps or underestimate the importance of any of the numerous aspects of the subject in hand; and practicality, so as to be able to draw up a genuinely future-oriented document identifying effective instruments and solutions.
In adopting this approach I relied on the data, statistics and percentages already widely available on the topic. The percentages are discomfiting once we look into them since, according to the World Health Organisation, more than 1 billion people are overweight and over 300 million are obese. Child obesity is growing rapidly, and we should bear in mind that diseases related to obesity and overweight absorb up to 6% of national health expenditure in certain Member States.
In seeking possible solutions we took care not to demonise certain types of food as being solely responsible for the problem of obesity. The problem will not be solved by eliminating such foods from our diet, but rather by educating consumers, and especially young people and children, to eat sensibly. Fats are an essential part of a correct nutritional intake, but in the right quantities and at the right times of the day. Lessons on diet, on which I lay great emphasis, are not about the ability to distinguish good foods from bad; nothing is harmful in absolute terms, and nothing needs to be excluded from the diet of healthy people not suffering from an eating disorder.
Another issue to which I would draw your attention is that obesity certainly does constitute a disease. It is a disease whose causes are not only physical but often social or psychological, but it nevertheless remains a disease which costs our national health systems huge sums of money every year. It is a disease which, as such, must be tackled by means of practical, multi-layered solutions. During these months of study, however, I have realised that all too often this aspect is underestimated by public opinion, which indulges in wholly justified alarmism and awareness-raising campaigns about anorexia but also takes an equally
justified consolatory approach towards overweight, with slogans such as ‘big is beautiful’, and so on. This is misguided; it sends out the wrong message. We are not discussing aesthetics or appearance; we are talking about health. Therefore, just as the scourge of anorexia needs to be fought energetically, we wish to try and combat obesity in the same manner, working on the various fronts set out in this report, which calls for parallel and consistent efforts.
Efforts are required from educators, health professionals, the food industry and the media, especially television. All of them must exercise the strong sense of responsibility deriving from their potential to guide public opinion. Public authorities, especially local ones, must play their part too.
I wish to close, ladies and gentlemen, with a news item which has made waves in the past few days: namely, one of the two candidates in the race for the White House has stated that it would be useful, right and proper to tax obese citizens as well as alcoholics and smokers. This, in my opinion, is absurd as a principle, but I do believe that this serious problem must be addressed in an appropriate manner, because only by tackling it head-on will positive results be achieved."@en1
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