Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-24-Speech-3-404"
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"en.20080924.34.3-404"2
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"Mr President, more than half of the European population is overweight, and the World Health Organisation tells us that a billion people worldwide are overweight, 300 million of them obese. As many as 50% of Europeans take no exercise at all.
Cardio-metabolic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease are growing at an alarming rate, and those with high levels of obesity are extremely prone to develop type-two diabetes with all the consequent morbidity issues, as witness the alarming increases in this type of diabetes among very young teenagers. Doctors are now also telling us there is a serious connection between obesity and dementia/Alzheimer’s disease.
Critically this is a huge challenge for policymakers, especially when it comes to our children, 22 million of whom are overweight in Europe. We have reached a stage in this strange world of ours today where there are more people overweight than there are hungry. On top of all of this, particularly in wealthier countries, we have an increasingly problematic relationship with food, with increasing anorexia and bulimia, diseases of countries where there is plenty to eat.
Although health matters largely fall within the Member States’ area of competence, there are many ways in which issues around obesity can be tackled at EU level: exchange of best practice, promoting healthier lifestyles in relevant EU policies and cross-border epidemiological cooperation.
Last week I hosted a breakfast week here in Parliament, where we underlined the fact that 61% of Europeans skip breakfast regularly during the week. This fact can be directly linked to excess weight gain by our doctors. The Harvard Medical School recently conducted a study which found that people who ate breakfast every day were 35% less likely to be obese. Research has also found that these people who skip breakfast are likely to be more tired, irritable and restless in the morning.
Starting the day with a proper blood-sugar level is the best antidote to snacking and sugar cravings. So while citizens are ultimately personally responsible for their own diets, the ongoing promotion of healthier lifestyles is a must.
I support this report strongly, except for paragraph 28, with which I cannot agree: I do not believe tax measures should be raised in a health-based report."@en1
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