EU food industry called to battle against obesity

Europe's food and drink industry will soon sit down with consumers, health workers and EU regulators to agree ways to tackle a rising trend of obesity, particularly in children, the EU's executive said on Tuesday.

A think-tank including members of the EU's agri-food industry will be set up in March to encourage companies to set their own targets to help fight obesity.

This would "cover issues like education, composition of foods, portion size, labelling, advertising and how to promote physical exercise", said Robert Madelin, director-general of the European Commission's health and consumer protection department.

"As calorie intake rises and physical activity diminishes, obesity becomes a growing challenge. European society is no longer in denial about this problem," Madelin told a two-day obesity conference organised by Agra Europe in Brussels.

According to International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), the prevalence of obesity has risen by 10 to 40 percent in the majority of European countries in the past 10 years. The rise of obesity in children is particularly alarming, it says.

"It (obesity) took off in the 1980s and looks as if it was accelerating in the last five to 10 years," IOTF Chairman Philip James told the conference. "It's beginning to look as if we have an exponential rise."

Madelin said there should be a combination of regulation and non-regulated initiatives to tackle Europe's obesity problem.

Working its way through the EU's long legislative process is a bill to outlaw misleading food labels and force companies to stick to scientifically backed slogans. Vague claims about foods aiding weight loss would be removed from packaging, as would eye-catching labels glossing over a product's fat content.

Another idea, Madelin said, would be for the EU to offer more advice on good dietary practice but without setting nutritional targets that food industries might have to meet.

EU health ministers have recently discussed the idea of "nutrient profiles" to help consumers choose healthier foods.

"We need to find a way of comparing national (dietary) guidelines, without harmonising them. Maybe we can move towards a higher profile for advice," he told the conference.