Some 380 people benefited in October and November last year from aerobic and weight management classes run by the Health Promotion and Prevention Directorate, Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia told Parliament.

Answering a question by opposition health spokesman Claudio Grech, he said the Health Ministry was running the anti-obesity programme as part of Malta’s National Strategy for the Right Weight for Life.

The ministry was continuing to offer education on balanced diets and physical exercise through the media, activities in the community, schools and workplaces and with various groups and communities. There was an average presence of five times a week on the major radio and television channels.

A national campaign was also under way for the reduction of food portions. The directorate also gave advice on the telephone and consultations to people with spe-cial needs.

The directorate had received visits from Dutch and French consultants to help in the drawing up of a national study on the Maltese people’s food consumption, financed by the World Health Organisation.

Work had continued apace on the Food and Nutrition Action Plan.