Mitsotakis announces National Action Against Childhood Obesity: "Obesity is a great burden"

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday at the presentation of the "National Action Against Childhood Obesity that "obesity is a great burden."

"I am very happy because a personal vision of mine is translated into action. For many years I have been strongly concerned with the problem of childhood obesity in our country. I remember every time I went to parades I would see, I would visualize the problem, I would see many children who were obese. And of course, a statistic that we all have to keep in mind has to do with the reality that an obese child is very likely to become an obese adult," the prime minister said.

"We treat obesity as a health problem, not as something to do with appearance. We love all children regardless of their appearance, we do not discriminate, but we know very well that obesity is a great burden. It makes life difficult for children and if it is not treated in childhood, it may make it even more difficult when they grow up," he added.

The prime minister expressed his satisfaction because, as he said, "we were able, with the support of the ministry and with the great personal effort of Irini Agapidaki, to create a structured programme to deal with childhood obesity in collaboration with UNICEF."

"One of the largest programmes that UNICEF has run together with a member state of the organization, a program that spans many different levels, recognizing from the beginning that a child's obesity is not a choice, it is a result of the environment in which they grow up. Often the foods that are least healthy are the easiest, often the cheapest. There is a direct correlation between childhood obesity and the incomes of the household in which they grow up," he noted.

Concluding, the prime minister underlined that this programme, which exceeds 30 million euros, is being implemented with resources from the Recovery Fund and is part of the Greece 2.0 plan.

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