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Mediterranean diet and childhood obesity, Europe upside down

December 15, 2018

Greece, Italy, Spain and Cyprus

stand out in Europe for the prevalence of

childhood obesity

. This is according to the findings of theWHO, whose nutrition policies-combination-are meanwhile being thwarted by the indomitable food producer HFSS (High Fats, Salt and Sodium) Ferrero. With the proud support of those who should instead promote the Mediterranean diet as opposed to junk food, such as

Coldiretti and Adiconsum

among many acolytes.

the Senate of the Italian Republic

even went so far as to approve by a very large majority a resolution

, on 5.12.18. Not to protect the health of our children and grandchildren with respect to the epidemic of childhood overweight and obesity-with all the diseases and inconveniences that will follow-but to delegate the government to fight the traffic lights in labeling. Shame!

WHO, report on childhood obesity in Europe.

The COSI monitoring plan (European Child Obesity Surveillance Initiative) was presented by Dr. Joao Breda, WHO Europe’s head of chronic noncommunicable disease prevention (NCDs, Not Communicable Diseases) – At the last European congress On obesity, in late May in Vienna.

The surveys carried out

on 250,000 children in 38 countries
of Old continent attest to the primacy of Cyprus, with 43 percent of overweight children and obese (with obesity in 30% of cases). This is followed by. Greece, Italy and Spain. Only Portugal is missing to attribute the acronym PIGS to youth anthropometric data rather than the economy of these countries. And unfortunately, they too will affect national economies, given that already 30 percent of public health expenditures are absorbed by diseases related to unbalanced diets and unhealthy lifestyles.

The Mediterranean diet has been stifled In its lifelong cradle with food-waste. Thus, in this upside-down Europe, Sweden is now the country with the youth in the best shape. While in Italy the 42% of children males è ‘overweight‘ and of these half – 21% of the total, to tied with Cyprus – Is obese (for females, 38% of Overweight including obesity expressing the14% of the total). A tragic scenario, from the Brenner Pass on down, as confirmed in ‘Helpcode Italia’s’ report to the Gaslini Institute in Genoa.

France – where the dark-suited troops of Ferrero’s lobbyists are not working – is instead engaged on the nutrition front with such seriousness to be on the opposite side of ours, in the ranking of WHO Europe on childhood overweight and obesity (ranging from 5 to 9 percent).

Childhood obesity and overweight, a life sentence for Italian children

Fat is not beautiful, nor is it happy. I

Italian children

are condemned, because of a poor diet, to a higher occurrence of even chronic and serious diseases, such as type 2 diabetes

which

in fact rampant

As a viral disease. And there is no vaccine, only prevention.

As early as pediatric age obesity induces suffering neorgans vital and is associated with a range of health problems including sleep, respiratory, gastrointestinal, endocrine, cardiovascular, and psychiatric disorders. The damage to the organism is not temporary and the‘Obesity onset in developmental age’ Tends to worsen in adulthood, with Reduced life expectancy.

Chronic noncommunicable diseases
are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors. Among them, overweight e obesity representan a factor of risk and affect the severity of disease. Referring to pcardiovascular atologies, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disorders. The qhree diseases responsible for the large portion ofof premature deaths, 35 million each year, 60 percent of deaths globally.

Childhood obesity in Italy, the actions needed

The

Mediterranean diet
– as observed last century by Ancel Keys and Margaret Haney – is not merely a list of healthy foodsor the calculated combination of them .Rather, it isa code ofconduct and civility.à, a paradigm of existence. For the ancient Greeks diaita meant in fact
‘
rule of life‘. Vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, fruits, grains and legumes,animal protein in the right amount. With attention to quality, authenticity and freshness of raw materials. And to the balance between energy intake and energy consumed through exercise, which is equally crucial.

The very countries that are emblematic Of the Mediterranean diet – Cyprus, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Italy, Morocco and Portugal, according to Unesco’s recognition as assetso immaterialand humanity-they are, however, those who have lost sight of the pattern of life. Due to cultural deficit, outside influences (advertising, even covert advertising) and inability to spend

, the peoples

of the

Mediterranean are poisoning their children with junk food.

Junk-food, o HFSS (High Fats, Sugars and Sodium), i.e., ultra-processed foods with nutritional profiles deteriorating and unbalanced, must be reformulated So as to inhibit its harmful effects. Drastic measures should be taken, such as:

taxation of sugary drinks e junk-food,
ban on the sale

of HFSS foods in vending machines

such as in the vicinity of schools,
prohibition of advertising

in any possible form, including on the web and social networks

,
nutritional labeling

with color codes.

, following the NutriScore model successfully applied in France.

The goal di these measures, note well, è compel the producers of food-waste To change recipes. By drastically reducing sugar, fat saturates and salt In ultra-processed foods. As has already happened in the Countries who applied them, following WHO recommendations (World Health Organization, WHO). One example out of all, sugar in carbonated soft drinks, halved in the UK compared to Italy.

And the theorem of the alleged attack on the

Made in Italy

, since public health measures aimed at protecting the health of minors especially can come targeted-as is being done in France-only ultra-processed foods. Foods such as bnon-alcoholic beverages, packaged snacks and confectionery, industrial bread, mechanically separated meat (e.g., sausage),as well as instant soups, ready meals, industrial cakes and pizzas. The which:

– have nothing to do with Italian production and culinary traditions,

– Can be easily reformulated. Especially in Italy, where the food technology is leading the way and has given excellent evidence of this in replacing palm oil With oils free of saturated fats and hazardous contaminants.

The
‘

ultra-processed

d foods

‘ differ in fact by the presence of food additives and substances rarely used in cooking. Be they directly extracted from foods (e.g., casein, lactose, whey, and gluten), or derived by further processing (e.g., hydrogenated oils, hydrolyzed proteins, maltodextrins, invert sugar, high-fructose corn syrup).

The evolution of recipes for such products
– that effective health policies and stringent measures must induce – will indeed enable the
Made in Italy
to establish itself even better in international markets. Since the need for healthy foods is as topical as it is globally shared. And the most advanced companies are already capitalizing on this, offering food where the goodnessà is matched with balanced nutritional profiles and
clean labels
.