Public health crisis
The World Health Organisation (WHO) warns of a real obesity epidemic. Obesity can be fatal; already, as many as 10-13 percent of deaths in Europe are obesity-related. 145 million or 16 percent of the Europe's population today are obese. Add the merely overweight and the figure rises to 445 million or 50 percent.
"Obesity is causing a public health crisis. For example, it can lead to diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure," reports Gudjon Magnusson, Director of the Division of Health Programmes at WHO's Regional Office for Europe.
Lost control
Magnusson thinks lifestyle changes are to blame. "We've lost control of our food. We are usually given scant details of what food contains so we eat too much fat, sugar and salt and not enough fruit and vegetables. On top of this, we don't get enough exercise. We walk and bicycle less than before and play much less sport."
He adds, "This trend can only be reversed if there is united political realisation of the importance of tackling obesity. Each European country must make a concerted effort from government through to school level. For example, schools must give much higher priority to physical activity, town planners must factor physical exercise into their designs and public transport must be made such an attractive option that people abandon their cars for it."
Positive outcomes
"The tendency is to lay all the blame for obesity at the door of the individual but if any progress is to be made, society has to accept its share of responsibility, argues Magnusson.
Targeting children
Lars Iversen, partner in COWI's subsidiary, MUUSMANN consultants, believes that particular efforts to prevent obesity must be made amongst children.
"There is no strategy to ensure, for example, that an hour's exercise a day is included in the school timetable. The strategy should also be to get the food industry to adopt a new attitude to marketing unhealthy foods - e.g. breakfast cereals with 50 per cent sugar content - to children. If the change is not voluntary, we shall have to legislate," says Iversen, who points out that the pressure exerted by the obesity epidemic on our health services will eventually hit us all hard in the purse.