IDM | EDA Column The obesity challenge Is reducing sugar in chocolate milk the ultimate solution? in adolescents, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has been growing in all EU regions with highest prevalence in the South (from 20.2% in 2002 to 22.5% in 2010) and the sharpest (photo: colourbox.de 20 · 4-5 2016 | international-dairy.com MW Berchtesgadener Land Author: Kinga Adamaszwili, EDA Nutrition, Health & Food Law Officer The rising obesity prevalence among adults and children is a serious threat to public health systems and the future generations. The recent data shows that public health policies have not been efficient to tackle this multifactorial challenge. We have seen that product reformulation and benchmarks on salt, fat and sugar reduction per food category continue to be one of the preferred options discussed by the authorities. One may ask – is a single-nutrient approach an efficient and adequate measure to fight the obesity challenge? Are we aware of data showing that reformulated food makes people slimmer and healthier? And finally, should we focus on solutions without being certain of evident public health benefits? Maybe the time is ripe to look at the problem from another perspective. The world has an obesity problem The recently published data of body-mass index (BMI) trends in adults in 200 countries tell us that more people in the world are now obese as opposed to underweight1. According to the latest Lancet analysis, the number of obese people globally had increased from 105 million (1975) to 641 million (2014). At the same time, the number of underweight people had increased from 330 million (1975) to 462 million (2014). If post-2000 trends continue, by 2025 the global obesity prevalence will reach 18% in men and surpass 21% in women; severe obesity will surpass 6% in men and 9% in women. Trends in Europe are also not positive for the future generations – according to the latest WHO HBSC survey2 on trends
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