The EU today officially launched its ‘Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health,’ aimed at reversing the increase in obesity in Europe.
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The scheme was launched by Markos Kyprianou, European commissioner for health and consumer protection, Mars Di Bartolomeo, Luxembourg’s minister of health, Karl-Heinz Florenz MEP, chairman of the European parliament’s environment, public health and food safety committee, and representatives of business, civil society and public sector organisations.
The creation of the platform is part of an overall strategy on nutrition and physical activity being developed by the commission, and follows several months of discussions between the Commission and the various stakeholders about how to address the obesity epidemic in Europe, the European Commission said.
Rates of obesity, particularly among children, have risen across the EU and health experts have expressed concern about the consequences of this trend. Stakeholders agreed that promoting healthier diets and more physical activity among Europeans is the key to tackling this problem.
The reasons why Europe’s waistline has expanded are relatively simple: we tend to eat too much and exercise too little. How to address the problem, though, is far less simple. Food manufacturers, retailers, canteens, restaurants, schools, health professionals, national governments, local governments and civil society all have a role to play in promoting healthier eating and more physical activity. Nonetheless, the stakeholders who are creating the platform have agreed that the problem of obesity is already sufficiently severe and sufficiently understood for them to be prepared to give a lead in taking actions that can help to contain or reverse the current trend.
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By GlobalDataThe EU has an important role to play in all this via its food safety, public health, education, internal market and agricultural policies. By bringing together the key stakeholders at EU level, the platform aims to pool their expertise and catalyse Europe-wide action across a range of sectors. Organising a platform at EU-level enables us to pool the best expertise and the best knowledge Europe has to offer. The EU Platform should also act as a forum where good practice from one country can rapidly be disseminated and replicated across the continent.
The platform brings together the key EU-level representatives of the food, retail, catering, and advertising industries, the cooperative movement, consumer organisations, health professionals and health NGOs. Its founding members are the European Commission, the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU (CIAA), EuroCommerce – which represents the retail, wholesale and international trade sectors in Europe, the European Community of Consumer Cooperatives (EURO COOP), the European Consumers Organisation (BEUC), the European Heart Network (EHN), the European Modern Restaurants Association, the European Vending Association (EVA), the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have joined the Platform as observers.
All platform members have agreed to devote an increasing level of resources and effort either to extended existing initiatives or launching new actions designed to reverse the obesity trend. The five fields for action identified so far by the platform members are; consumer information, including labelling; education; physical activity promotion; marketing and advertising and composition of foods, availability of healthy food options, portion sizes
The Commission has made clear to platform Members that what it expects from them is a step change – i.e. a significant increase – in the effort they devote to fighting obesity. Minor increases in activity or a few token initiatives will not be sufficient. Given the positive nature of the discussions that led to the creation of the platform, we are confident that this message has been understood – and will be acted on.
Platform members are due to put forward action plans this summer that will describe the new actions and initiatives they propose to undertake. In principle, the action plans will detail how existing initiatives will be extended or new additional activities that the platform members will deliver during the course of 2006.
It is quite possible, though, that the platform will catalyse the launch of some new activities, or greater investment in existing initiatives, during the second half of 2005.
They key test for the platform will be whether the action plans proposed by its members catalyse significant new activity in the fight against obesity. These plans are due to be defined in 2005 and delivered in 2006. Therefore, by the end of 2006 we should be in a position to judge whether the platform is producing real results.
