The government has decided to conduct a survey that will involve the analysis of the dietary habits of 2,400 randomly-selected people aged between 19 and 65 years through a diary each individual participant will keep over a five-day period. The authorities hope the exercise will achieve a deeper understanding of the food and drink consumption of the Maltese and will help the government to formulate strategies to combat poor dietary habits that predispose to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, strokes and cancers.

Participants will be enticed to cooperate through the chance of winning free flights and weekend breaks at designated hotels and will be helped to complete the study in complete confidence.

Interestingly, many EU countries have already undertaken this exercise, on a regular basis, and this undertaking will therefore allow the comparison of the Maltese population with other EU countries. The Malta Standards Authority, which will undertake the study, hopes to repeat this exercise biannually. It is hoped that the survey will be complete by May and will tell us what the "Mediterranean diet" consists of.

Unfortunately, we can already anticipate the findings: A low intake of fruits and vegetables along with far more calories than needed on a daily basis. This, coupled with lack of exercise, is rapidly leading us to the head of the obesity league and, indeed, Maltese children are at the upper end of this league table.

Overweight and obesity lead to disease such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma. At this point, it is worth noting that non-communicable diseases including circulatory diseases, cancers and diabetes are now the leading causes of premature death and disability in Malta. These conditions inflict a substantial burden of illness on the Maltese bringing about disability, loss of productive years and a drain on public health resources.

Children are the key to this cycle as children who are overweight or obese tend to remain so and become fat adults and, even if such children lose weight, some damage to their bodies remains. Moreover, like smokers, these children have a high relapse rate and tend to regain their lost weight. For all of these reasons, childhood prevention is crucial. Children and parents should be better informed with regard to proper eating habits and proper food must be affordable (and if necessary somehow "subsidised") and food nutrition labels should be compulsory.

Unfortunately, healthy food is expensive while processed, high fat, low-nutrient fare tends to be cheaper and more readily available. For these reasons, schools must allow only healthy food to be sold on the premises and children should be encouraged to learn and adopt healthy meal plans. This not only includes food types, but also the timing of eating: Breakfast, lunch and a small mid-morning snack.

Foods that are high in fibre and low in fat and salt are the best foods for a healthy diet. Our diet should include lots of fruits and vegetables, with some pasta, rice, potato and bread. Fats should be minimised and this includes butter, margarine and fried food. Large and frequent portions of animal meat should also be discouraged.

Exercise is equally important and schools should remember that good school grades in fat children are not a success. Children should have exercise and organised sports. The Latin saying mens sana in corpore sano, meaning: A sound mind in a sound body, should be the key to the follow-up of this laudable exercise.