A representative from the Malta Chamber of pharmacists attended an Information session on healthy eating in schools organized by MEUSAC on the 24th February. It was a very well attended and informative session which focused mainly on Childhood Obesity in the EU and Malta and its impact on healthcare costs as well as Healthy Eating in Schools and the EU’s School Fruit Scheme, and forms part of an information measure The EU’s CAP: Now and Beyond, co-funded by the European Commission.
During the session the speakers gave a very good update of what the EU is doing to promote healthy eating in schools and how this is being implemented on a National level with a very high uptake in schools namely that of 89% in 2009 followed by an increase of 10% in 2010 reaching 99% uptake (137 participating schools). The problem of childhood obesity was also put into perspective and there is a great need to promote healthy eating with increased consumption of Fruit and Vegetables (F&V) on a daily basis.
It is estimated that there are 22 million overweight children in the EU, 5.1 million of which require medical treatment. Every year there is an increase of 1.2 million more overweight children and 400,000 more classified as obese. The cost of obesity amounts to 150 billion euros in healthcare costs and loss of productivity, still rising.. There is an urgent need to stop what is now termed the “snow ball effect”. Maltese boys aged between 11-13 years have ranked first for obesity worldwide!
The aim is to go towards a holistic approach and improve the lifestyle of children from an early age. This is what triggered the introduction of the Fruit and Vegetable scheme in EU schools. Malta has an average total daily average intake of F&V of 487g/day. Although this is higher than the average of 350g/day, Malta still lags behind other EU Member States (MS) such as Spain (554g/day), Italy (586g/day), Greece (834g/day) and Cyprus (749g/day). Our level of consumption is close to that of Denmark, Poland and France. Certainly lifestyle, price, availability and taste might offer an explanation to the figures.
Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health. The Health Promotion Unit on a national level has launched a Non-Communicable Disease Strategy and a Cancer Strategy and is about to launch a National Obesity Strategy which is in its draft version. It is of utmost importance to engage all stakeholders and not just the schools. The awareness campaign “Frott u Haxix – 5 Trid Tghodd” is ongoing and it is hoped that this drives the right message home to Maltese citizens making them realize that we need to go back to a Mediterranean diet away from fast food chains.
Speakers included Leonard Mizzi, from DG Agriculture & Rural Development, European Commission, Paul Alan Spiteri, Paying Agency (Ministry of Resources and Rural Affairs (MRRA)), Mary-Anne Massa from the Health Promotion Unit and various speakers from the Home Economics Seminar Centre.