mr president obesity is one of europe's greatest health challenges but some may say what has it got to do with us here in the european parliament
or indeed within the eu
there are at least two reasons
one is as the rapporteur has already said obesity-related diseases account for more than six of taxpayer-funded national health budgets in the eu
we all have to pay for it
secondly different eu countries are tackling the issue differently and all have much to learn from each other
so may i congratulate the commission for their white paper in triggering this debate and i would just highlight a few key points
we generally welcome the commission's proposal on food labelling but felt it would be inappropriate for this report to pre-empt the detailed discussions which will be necessary on this specific issue
on obesity evidence shows that the problem is much more about how much exercise people take rather than just how much food they eat
it is about calorie output not just about calorie input
so it would be totally wrong to blame the food and drink industry for causing the problem or indeed for failing to provide a sufficient solution
the reality is in fact much more complicated
we need more activity-friendly communities offering more bicycle routes better town planning more promotion of public transport more parks and sports facilities more school playing fields and yes better education
we need many aspects of our lives to change
so may i congratulate the rapporteur on his wide-ranging report and his very difficult task picking up from his predecessor and dealing with so many shadows with so many ideas of their own
i particularly thank him for accepting some of my amendments including those concerning the problem of malnourishment particularly in hospitals and care homes for the elderly
it is most important that we look after the more vulnerable in our society
some people make themselves vulnerable and if i may conclude with a sweeping generalisation one of the problems of society today is a lack of personal responsibility a belief that every failing is someone else's problem that someone else will solve it
more regulation simply feeds this perception more self-regulation and self-discipline is the answer
we need to encourage greater personal responsibility and that way we will all make greater progress as a society
