Shocking warnings on junk food as those on cigarette packs

Food education, trans fats to be banned in foods and beverages within five years, prohibition of unhealthy food ads, taxation to discourage consumers and, finally, labels showing the damages caused by junk food to health. Two of the major world associations, Consumer International and World Obesity Federation, think that the current obesity epidemic is more harmful for

Food education, trans fats to be banned in foods and beverages within five years, prohibition of unhealthy food ads, taxation to discourage consumers and, finally, labels showing the damages caused by junk food to health. Two of the major world associations, Consumer International and World Obesity Federation, think that the current obesity epidemic is more harmful for our health than cigarettes and drastic measures are needed to limit it. These include the same strategies used to warn people not to consume cigarettes worldwide.

 

On 21st May, these associations, during the national meeting of the WHO, World Health Organisation, will suggest a Global Agreement against unhealthy food imposing stricter measures to the food industry, exactly as those imposed to that of tobacco in 2003, which were legally binding for the countries that ratified it.

 

cattiva alimentazione

 

Ten years ago the WHO released a Global Strategy on Diet and Physical Activity and Health, the first document to recognise the negative effects of an unhealthy diet. These warnings weren’t useful to slow down the number of obesity-induced deaths, which, on the contrary, increased from 2.5 million people in 2005 to 3.8 million in 2010. Today, there are half a billion overweight and obese people in the world.

 

“We want to avoid a situation like the 1960s, where the tobacco industry was saying there is nothing wrong with cigarettes, they are good for our health, and 30 or 40 years later millions have died. If we don’t take action now, we are going to have the same intransigence and foot-dragging in the food industry”, said Luke Upchurch of Consumer International.

Translated by

Siamo anche su WhatsApp. Segui il canale ufficiale LifeGate per restare aggiornata, aggiornato sulle ultime notizie e sulle nostre attività.

Licenza Creative Commons
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.

Related articles
Jamie Oliver’s petition for better food in schools

Obesity is a worldwide widespread disease. Such condition occurs when the intake of calories exceeds the amount of calories burnt. Obesity is due by poor nutrional education, sedentary lifestyle and other causes, such as genetic predisposition, family environment and social and economic conditions. Obese or overweight children do not necessarily eat too much, but they

Every country has its diet: from the best to the worst

Eating large amounts of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, fish and wholegrains is obviously a healthy habit. But people don’t have such a balanced diet in every part of the world. There are places with a geography, climate and food culture that foster a healthy diet, others that mostly eat ready and processed meals

What the world eats

Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisi, husband and wife, travelled the world documenting eating habits of people of all classes, in different countries. They photographed people with their habitual meal, and their journey became a photographic book entitled What I eat –  Around the World in 80 diets.   The two photographers didn’t only take amazing pictures:

UK approves ban on cruel trophy hunting imports

The United Kingdom have voted to support Hunting trophies bill, a controversial bill that aims at prohibits importing hunting trophies from thousands of endangered animal body parts of lions, elephant and giraffe’s into the U.K.