ROME, May 18 (UPI) -- Poor dietary habits and surging obesity across Europe demand serious attention, U.N. agencies have warned.
Highlighting obesity as the greatest public health challenge of this century, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization and World Health Organization Thursday cautioned European eating habits had deteriorated over the past half century and that obesity had tripled in many areas in the last 25 years.
"It is a sad fact that overweight and obesity affect the poorest parts of society most, and also have long-term consequences for one of its most vulnerable groups, children," WHO Regional Director for Europe Marc Danzon said from FAO Headquarters in Rome during a two-day dialogue on agriculture and public health policy options. "Everyone must have access to healthy food, and government policies must support both availability and access in Europe."
Although EU citizens were eating more fruit and vegetables and Mediterraneans generally ate healthier diets, obesity was on the rise at an alarming rate among children and was responsible for 10 to 13 percent of deaths in parts of Europe, more than any other world region.
"The (European Union) diet has gradually deteriorated and has become too rich in fats, particularly saturated fats, sugar and cholesterol," said FAO economist Josef Schmidhuber.
Obesity was not limited to rich, developed countries but was also placing developing countries under a "double burden" of under-nourishment crossed with over-nutrition and obesity, according to FAO nutritionist Guy Nantel.
Nantel cited the example of China, where 23 percent of adults were overweight or obese and diet-related chronic diseases had become the leading cause of death.
The FAO estimates there were 852 million undernourished people worldwide in 2000-2002, while the WHO found 300 million obese adults and 115 million suffering from obesity-related conditions in the developing world.
