Italy is gearing up to tackle childhood obesity head-on, after research showing that Italian kids are among the heaviest in Europe, the head of parliament's children's committee said on Tuesday.
Speaking after a report found higher obesity levels among Italian, Spanish and Greek kids than any others in Europe, Anna Serafini said her committee was putting the final touches to an action plan designed to combat the problem.
"The Italian situation has become untenable - we are famous worldwide for the Mediterranean diet and yet we have the most obese children in Europe," she said.
She said a plan would be unveiled in coming days targeting all levels of society, including the government, industry, schools and parents.
"Physical activity must become a compulsory part of the curriculum in primary schools and information campaigns should be directed at pregnant women, because their diets can affect the weight of their offspring," said Serafini.
She said schools had an important role to play, by ensuring supplies of healthy snacks, such as fruit and vegetables, in vending machines.
She also called for tighter regulations governing the advertising of junk food on TV during peak viewing hours for kids.
"We have double the European average of food adverts, yet half the number of hours devoted to physical activity at school," she said. "Enough is enough".
The report released on Monday by the Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (SIED) found that a third of all Italian children aged 7-11 are overweight or obese.
The study further noted that overweight children in this age group have a 70% chance of staying that way into adulthood.
Apart from the social stigma attached to obesity, the SIED warned of ensuing health problems, including respiratory, orthopaedic and cardiovascular complications.
"For the first time, we risk seeing an inversion of the trend of recent decades, with our children's life expectancy shorter than our own," said the report.
Commenting on the report, Professor Claudio Maffeis, an expert on childhood obesity at Verona University, stressed that wide-ranging action was needed to fight the problem.
"In particular, intervention is essential with regards to nutritional habits and family lifestyle, the environment in which children develop," he said. "While 50% of obesity has genetic causes, the other 50% is created by kids' everyday environment.
"Unfortunately, it's a fact that youngsters are no longer active like they used to be - TV today broadcasts children's shows all the time. If kids are not given better alternatives, they're bound to spend the whole afternoon in front of the set".
In addition to the action plan being drafted by the bicameral parliamentary committee, Italy will see a series of initiatives organized by SIEDP over coming days.
Meetings and conferences are scheduled to take place in 18 cities, to be attended by parents, teachers, institutional representatives, nutritional experts and paediatricians.
The first of a series of educational videos will also be screened, designed to help parents and teachers spot signs of imminent obesity and prevent it.
Eventually, the film series will be available online, along with practical information on children's clinics and contact details for parents in need of advice.
