EU mulling tougher food ad, labelling rules to fight obesity

(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission said Wednesday it was considering tightening food advertising and nutrition labelling rules if companies failed to improve consumer awareness about unhealthy foods.

In a new drive against obesity, EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said he wanted to "encourage" food companies to provide consumers with full information about the health risks associated with their products.

But if they failed to improve the information available to consumers, he said "we cannot exclude the possibility" of setting tougher advertising and labelling rules on companies.

"What consumers eat is up to them, but they should be able to make informed choices, and have a range of healthy options to choose from," said Kyprianou.

"That is why the Commission is reviewing the options for nutrition labelling, and calling on industry to advertise responsibly and reduce levels of salt, fats and sugar in food products," he added.

The European Commission's new anti-obesity push is a response to growing evidence that Europeans, including a rising number of children, are too fat with over half estimated to be obese or overweight.

According to the World Health Organisation, obesity rates have more than trebled since the 1980s in many European countries as the average daily intake of calories has risen.

Of particular concern, was the growing prevalence of obesity among children, with over 21 million classified as obese across Europe.

"We have to acknowledge the fact that children don't entertain themselves any more through physical activity," said Kyprianou, adding that they needed to be "reintroduced" to physical games.

A Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity related health issues - White Paper