Project to present best strategies for tackling ballooning obesity problem
With the World Heath Organization (WHO) citing obesity as responsible for between 10 and 13 per cent of all deaths in some parts of Europe, governments are realising the consequences of obesity, and are scrambling to tackle this growing problem. In the rush to keep the population slim and healthy, there has been little consultation on the best methods to do this, and an array of approaches can be seen around Europe. The PORGROW project, funded under the 'New and emerging science and technologies' (NEST) section of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) is drawing to a close after comparing policy options and stakeholder views around Europe. The final results will be presented at a conference in Brussels on 14 September, but project coordinator Erik Millstone from the University of Sussex in the UK gave CORDIS News a preview of the team's findings, as well as an overview of the PORGROW methodology. 'Obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century,' according to the WHO's website. 'Its prevalence has tripled in many European countries since the 1980s, and the numbers of those affected are continuing to increase at an alarming rate, particularly among children. Obesity is already responsible for 2-8 per cent of health costs and 10-13 per cent of deaths in different parts of the European Region.' However, what people eat, and how much exercise they take, are personal decisions. Lifestyle and habits, once well-established, can be difficult to change. What then, can governments do to reduce the waist size of their citizens? In France, all junk food has been banned in schools, and this approach has also been proposed in the UK. In Scandinavia, there are strict controls on advertising, while in Spain there is 'an elaborate plan for dealing with obesity, but it consists of entirely voluntary agreements', says Dr Millstone. The big debate in several countries is on food labelling. The PORGROW partners interviewed 21 stakeholders in nine countries: Cyprus; France; Greece; Hungary; Italy; Poland; Spain; Finland and the UK. The stakeholders represented groups such as farmers and food manufacturers, doctors, nutritionists, food retailers, advertisers, policy-makers, sports organisations, researchers and self-help groups. Each interviewee was asked to evaluate policy options for dealing with obesity - six core options and six more of their own choice from a list provided by PORGROW. The interviewees could then also introduce their own ideas. Interviewees then ranked the list of policy options according to their own criteria, for example social acceptance or cost. This allowed the stakeholders to 'appraise a rich range of approaches in terms of what is important to them,' explained Dr Millstone. Together, the rankings and the reasons taken from the interviews provided the PORGROW consortium with a 'rich set of qualitative and quantitative set of data', according to Dr Millstone. The team then took 'all the needles in the haystack' and looked for patterns. The results showed some similarities, but quite a few striking differences as well, according to Dr Millstone. Regionally, the long-standing EU Member States are more enthusiastic about advertising controls than new Member States, which have 'less confidence in making those kinds of interventions in the market place', says Dr Millstone. Some countries believe that a governmental body is needed to assess the problem and provide solutions, while others believe that this would slow down the implementation of policy. On some issues, and in particular food labelling, there are more differences between stakeholders than between countries. At the September conference, the project partners will present the project and the team's cross-national analysis. Nine individual country reports will be presented in each of the partner countries. Each report will contain recommendations, and should give policy-makers the best possible basis for deciding which policies, and which combinations of policies, will be most effective and acceptable.