In most western societies obesity is considered as one of the top three most urgent health concerns, only after the cost and accessibility of healthcare. In the case of Malta, where we have a free healthcare system, obesity is arguably the second most important challenge after cost.
The World Health Organisation has been sounding the alarm since the 1990s. From time to time reports are published that seem to indicate that the obesity epidemic is indeed growing. Some would go as far to say that it is unstoppable.
A recent study by The New England Journal of Medicine has come up with some important conclusions on how obesity is affecting 195 countries including Malta. The headline conclusion about excessive weight in the Maltese population is that “excessive weight-related deaths are down” since 1990. Yet obesity rates are going up. Malta has the unenviable record as “the nation with the highest obesity rates in the EU”.
But no one should adopt a fatalistic attitude to this slow burning health problem. Malta is not unique in facing such a formidable challenge as it is estimated that on average about a third of adults in western societies are clinically obese. This shocking reality has a physical toll for the obese but it also has a fiscal toll as obese people often need to be treated for high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, and stroke.
The WHO describes obesity as a “predominantly social and environmental disease”. Many nutrition experts agree that the causes of obesity are various and the solution to this problem – taking in less calories while undertaking more physical exercise – is deceptively too simplistic. Politicians who speak about tackling the problem by simply raising the cost of unhealthy junk food are also underestimating the hard work that needs to be done to stop this epidemic.
There are several possible triggers for the obesity epidemic including: increased availability of affordable foods; decreased physical demands in many jobs; more leisure time spent watching television or using computers and smart phones; work-related stress; and the temperature of our houses and workplaces. All these factors need to be tackled if the rise in obesity is to be reversed.
As in most areas where changes in lifestyle can help reverse a negative unhealthy trend, education is the most effective long-term strategy to change the mind-set of people and encourage them to adopt healthier habits. Healthy living lessons starting from primary schools should be made interesting so that the attention of young pupils on healthy living practices is kindled at a young age.
While politicians should steer away from adopting a patronising attitude on how people should decide on what to eat, they should create fiscal incentives for those food businesses who introduce products that are intrinsically heartier than similar products they produced in the past. At EU level legislation may be needed to promote changes in the way food is produced to make it healthier for consumers.
It is easy to ascribe negative stereotypical traits to overweight and obese people. Many medical professionals believe that obesity is similar to alcohol and drug addiction. The same commitment is needed to defeat this seemingly unstoppable epidemic.
It is wrong to believe that obesity is simply a matter of willpower.