obesity

UK doctors ask for taxing fizzy drinks and ban junk food ads to act against obesity epidemic

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, representing nearly every doctor in the United Kingdom, calls on unhealthy foods to be addressed with anti-tobacco-like campaigns as current measures are clearly failing. The UK is the "fat man" of Europe. This phrase, which reflects the shocking reality that one quarter of UK inhabitants are obese and up to one third are overweight, is the starting point of Measuring Up: the medical profession’s prescription for the nation’s obesity (...)

Sugar users ‘disappointed’ by agriculture committee vote to keep sugar quotas

Sugar users were dealt a blow on sugar quota reform, after the European agriculture committee voted to extend the current system to 2020, rejecting a proposal to end quotas by 2015. Further detaild are available in the Food navigator website EPHA related articles EU and Member States’ strategies on nutrition, overweight and obesity WHO Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health National Obesity Forum Annual Conference "Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: (...)

"Aspartame is safe!" EFSA’s draft opinion on aspartame opened to public feedback

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has decided to launch an open consultation on its scientific risk assessment about the safety of ’Aspartame’ (codified as E951 in the EU), the widely-used and controversial artificial sweetener. In May 2011, EFSA was asked by the Commission to re-evaluate fully the safety of aspartame. The study is now been made public and submitted for comments until February 15. Public consultation on the draft scientific opinion on the (...)

Nutri-Medias: A new tool empowering young people when facing food industry advertisement

COFACE, the Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union, recently launched a new education tool in the arena of food and nutrition aimed at emphasising the link between food marketing and advertising. Due to the fact that the majority of studies evaluating the links between food marketing/advertising and young peoples’ behaviours are sponsored, in one way or another, very few of these studies are trustworthy. Yet, these papers do emphasise the impact that advertising (...)

WHO agrees on 25% decrease target in non-communicable diseases-related premature mortality by 2025

On 9 November 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) Member States agreed on a list of global targets to be achieved by 2025. The goals have the general objective of decreasing premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by 25%, the so-called "25 by 25". The framework consists of nine global targets and 25 indicators. Initiated by recommendations from a WHO Working Group on non-communicable diseases targets back in July 2011, and after a series of open consultations, WHO Member (...)

EPHAC Press Release. World Food Day – Agricultural cooperatives key to feeding the world

16 October 2012, Brussels - The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) World Food Day provides an opportunity to highlight the plight of the millions of undernourished people in the World, BUT also the increasing problem of overconsumption and associated chronic conditions of overweight and obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. EPHAC Press Release. World Food Day – Agricultural cooperatives key to feeding the world. The co-existing (...)

Report finds that advertising junk food continues to undermine children’s health in Europe

On 27 September, the International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) published a study on self-regulation and its impact on children. It found that the industry’s own figures show that children’s exposure to advertisements for fatty and sugary foods has fallen by barely a quarter over the last six years. According to a new report, A Junk‐Free Childhood 2012: Marketing foods and beverages to children in Europe, advertising junk food continues to undermine (...)

EPHA Press Release: A legacy of obesity and diabetes? - The International Olympic Committee embraces the junk food industry to sponsor the Olympics

Brussels, July 19 - In a shocking move, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has just signed, until 2020, a sponsorship agreement with Coca-Cola, McDonalds and the confectionery company Cadbury. A poorly-judged decision if the IOC is to stand up for its Olympic philosophy of life: “exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind.”(1) Practising and enjoying sports and physical activity help protect against numerous and serious chronic (...)

CAP reform towards 2020 – has it delivered what stakeholders expected?

The European Public Health and Agriculture Consortium, of which EPHA is a member, has strongly reacted to Commissioner Ciolos question on whether the CAP reform has delivered what civil society demanded of it: They have told him that "We are about to miss a huge opportunity to align European agriculture and food policy to meet the challenges of food for good health!" “We are about to miss a huge opportunity to align European agriculture and food policy to meet the challenges of food (...)

New OECD figures available on obesity and overweight

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recently published the Obesity update 2012. The document provides an overview of the latest figures on those classified as overweight or obese, as well as documenting the measures being taken to counter the epidemic. The following trends were emphasised in the Report: Projections suggest that by 2020, more than 2 out of 3 people will be overweight or obese in several OECD countries; in financial terms, obesity is (...)