Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-01-31-Speech-3-197"
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"en.20070131.22.3-197"2
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"Mr President, allow me first of all to congratulate Mrs Ries, who has done a remarkable job on a particularly crucial matter, since, as has already been said, more than 27% of men and 38% of women in Europe are now considered to be overweight or obese. These people suffer psychologically because of other people’s view of them and are at risk of sometimes serious health complications.
As has been pointed out too, obesity affects more than three million children, that is to say one out of every four children in Europe. This statistic should lead us to take action, especially in view of the alarming rate of increase, with almost 400 000 new cases per year. Childhood is a stage of life in which people adopt a large proportion of their eating habits. It is therefore time for the European Union to encourage the Member States – as it is they who are competent in this matter – to take the necessary measures to promote healthy eating and regular physical exercise from childhood onwards.
As recommended by the report, it is imperative for the measures taken by the Member States to be supplemented by the provision of information to consumers and, in particular, young consumers, by which I mean the implementation – not only in the media but also in schools and, in particular, in school canteens – of campaigns to inform consumers about the problems connected with obesity and to raise their awareness of the issue.
The report also emphasises the essential role of health professionals in detecting the risks of chronic diseases linked to obesity, for example diabetes and cardio-vascular diseases, the consequences of which are particularly serious for people who are overweight. Thanks to their privileged relationship with patients, health professionals can, moreover, help educate and inform people about the risks they run and, in that way, play a crucial role.
Finally, one of the big problems raised here is, as previous speakers have said, the fact that people are not eating enough fruit and vegetables. We all know how essential it is to eat fruit and vegetables and, as the report indicates, people cannot eat them because they are too expensive. Let us therefore propose some practical solutions with a view to preventing this intolerable discrimination in the field of health. It is vital that the European Union support as closely as possible the practical measures taken by the Member States when it comes to health and nutrition, and this with a view considerably to reducing this growing phenomenon of obesity in Europe, particularly among children."@en1
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