EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou says that people are developing unhealthy food habits with diets mostly consisting of fatty and sweet ingredients combined. The unhealthy diet, coupled with lack of physical activity account for six of the seven top factors leading to poor health.
Recalling the fact that the EU Commission has constantly warned governments to act, but no action was taken, the minister added, "Everybody has to be blamed - including the authorities, including the industry, including the consumers," Kyprianou said.
Expressing his concern over the ever-expanding waist size of children, Kyprianou stressed on the need to act urgently as "today's overweight children will be tomorrow's heart attack victims."
According to statistics provided by the EU, over 21 million children are overweight and the rate of increase of that number is more than 400,000 children a year.
The overall consumption of fruit and vegetables is lower than medical recommendations. Additionally, the intake of fat and saturated fats is high throughout the continent, while the consumption of cereals has fallen by a quarter since the 1960s in Europe.
