A third of three-year-old children are at risk of developing tooth decay, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Chris Fearne warned today.
Speaking at a press conference to launch a new policy on healthy eating and physical activity in schools, Dr Fearne said that 10 per cent of kindergarten children already had enamel decay and required treatment.
Research into dental hygiene carried out last year by the Dental Public Health Unit found that some children needed as many as nine fillings out of 20 teeth.
This, he said was partly because Malta had one of the highest consumption of soft drinks per capita in Europe.
40 per cent of 11-year-olds drank a soft drink every day, double the EU average.
But Dr Fearne said that nearly half of children in middle school were overweight and did less than one hour of exercise every day.
In fact only 10 per cent of 10 year old girls did the recommended one hour of exercise every day.
The policy highlights the need for gaps in the school day during which children can exercise.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said this did not mean increasing the number of PE lessons in the timetable. Instead, schools, together with the education authorities will seek pockets of time in the school day to help children exercise.
Turning to children's diets, Dr Fearne said that just 27 per cent of boys aged 15 eat vegetables every day and a third of girls. This, he added was the same for fruit.
Malta also had the highest amount, 54 per cent, of children consuming sweets and chocolates more than once a day.
The policy will review the foods on sale in school, and also seeks to work with parents and other stakeholders.
On dental hygiene, Dr Feanre said he would be encouraging students to brush their teeth after meals, including when at school.
The solution, he said, was not limited to weeding out consumption of sugary foods, but also to instilling a culture of dental hygiene.
Another interesting lacuna in children’s diets was observed in the number of youngsters eating breakfast. A 2010 study found that half of 15 years old girls did not eat any breakfast whatsoever. A third of boys the same age also skipped the ‘most important meal of the day’.