Press Release: Commission presents results of consultation on healthy diets and physical activity

The Commission presents the results of a public consultation on promoting healthy diets and physical activity, with a focus on the prevention of overweight, obesity and chronic diseases, 11 September 2006. With around 14 million children in Europe currently overweight, of which more than 3 million are obese, this is now an urgent public health issue requiring co-ordinated action at EU level, as well as within Member States. The consultation was launched with the publication of a Green Paper on 8 December 2005 which put forward a number of different policy options for the consideration of stakeholders across Europe. Over 260 responses were received from players including the governments of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, public health community, the food industry, universities and the general public. Given the complexity of the issue, most contributors call for a multi-sector approach, involving action and coherence across EU policies. Many contributors also call for special attention to be paid to children and youth where fast increases in obesity are being observed. There were also calls for better consumer information on nutrition, and for this to be clear, consistent and evidence based.