Food industry is under pressure to drop junk food advertisements
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《英国医生杂志》
The European Commission is stepping up pressure on the food industry to phase out junk food advertisements targeted at children as part of moves to reverse the growing trend of obesity among young people.
Commission and industry representatives have been consulting over the past six months on the best ways to introduce some form of self regulation. But Markos Kyprianou, the new European Union health and consumer affairs commissioner, has warned that he will not hesitate to use legislation if the talks fail.
"My preference is for self regulation, which could involve all the players in binding and verifiable commitments, followed up by monitoring. If this doesn抰 work we will be left with no choice but to legislate. But so far signs from industry are positive and I am encouraged," he said last week.
He has given the food industry, represented by its European umbrella organisation, the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU, a clear timetable.
"We will give time for this process to work, but this should not go on for ever. I would give it roughly a year, see how it is going, and if there is no discernible progress I will look at other options," he explained.
Professor Philip James, chairman of the International Obesity Task Force, which is based in London, welcomed the commissioner抯 commitment. "The message to the food and drinks sector is that they must be much more proactive in demonstrating that they want to be part of the solution," he said, adding that it was important that any measures taken are independently monitored and verified to ensure they are genuinely effective.
The task force抯 most recent figures show that the number of overweight or obese children in Europe is now rising by more than 400 000 a year. In 2002 almost one in four children (24%) were affected, higher than the 19% expected from the trends recorded in the 1980s.
Some 14 million children in the European Union are now considered to be overweight. Of these, three million are obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is between 10% and 20% in northern Europe but is considerably higher in the southern member states. In Italy over a third (36%) of 9 year old boys are overweight or obese. In Greece the percentages for boys and girls aged 6 to 17 are 26% and 19%, respectively.
The British government last month earmarked ?m ($5.6m; �4.3m) to train healthcare professionals to help reverse the trend towards obesity. In the United States the vending machine industry, which has 16% of its seven million machines in schools, has announced a $1m campaign against obesity, while Kraft Foods plans to phase out all print and broadcast advertisements targeted at 6 to 11 year olds.(Brussels Rory Watson)
Commission and industry representatives have been consulting over the past six months on the best ways to introduce some form of self regulation. But Markos Kyprianou, the new European Union health and consumer affairs commissioner, has warned that he will not hesitate to use legislation if the talks fail.
"My preference is for self regulation, which could involve all the players in binding and verifiable commitments, followed up by monitoring. If this doesn抰 work we will be left with no choice but to legislate. But so far signs from industry are positive and I am encouraged," he said last week.
He has given the food industry, represented by its European umbrella organisation, the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU, a clear timetable.
"We will give time for this process to work, but this should not go on for ever. I would give it roughly a year, see how it is going, and if there is no discernible progress I will look at other options," he explained.
Professor Philip James, chairman of the International Obesity Task Force, which is based in London, welcomed the commissioner抯 commitment. "The message to the food and drinks sector is that they must be much more proactive in demonstrating that they want to be part of the solution," he said, adding that it was important that any measures taken are independently monitored and verified to ensure they are genuinely effective.
The task force抯 most recent figures show that the number of overweight or obese children in Europe is now rising by more than 400 000 a year. In 2002 almost one in four children (24%) were affected, higher than the 19% expected from the trends recorded in the 1980s.
Some 14 million children in the European Union are now considered to be overweight. Of these, three million are obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is between 10% and 20% in northern Europe but is considerably higher in the southern member states. In Italy over a third (36%) of 9 year old boys are overweight or obese. In Greece the percentages for boys and girls aged 6 to 17 are 26% and 19%, respectively.
The British government last month earmarked ?m ($5.6m; �4.3m) to train healthcare professionals to help reverse the trend towards obesity. In the United States the vending machine industry, which has 16% of its seven million machines in schools, has announced a $1m campaign against obesity, while Kraft Foods plans to phase out all print and broadcast advertisements targeted at 6 to 11 year olds.(Brussels Rory Watson)