Albania Child Obesity Reaches Alarming Rates

Tirana | 13 January 2009 | Over 16 percent of pre-teen children in Albania are overweight, said a study by the country’s Institute of Public Health, ISHP.

The study looked at the weight problems of some 4,000 children in elementary schools across Albania. Experts blame rising obesity trends on children’s changing diets towards increased consumption of processed foods.

“Over 60 per cent of children consume sweets and fast food while they are in school, which are ingredients linked to obesity,” Jolynda Hyska, a specialist with ISHP told Top Channel TV.

“We have seen a growing tendency of obesity as the result of a poor diet among kids.”

ISHP found that children in private schools were at greater risk of obesity than those in public schools because they consume more calories, possibly because their larger allowances buy them more snacks.

Obesity especially among children is a growing problem in the industrialised world, and the World Health Organization classifies it as a public health concern.

(Reporting by Besar Likmeta), Balkaninsight

Short URL: http://www.albanianeconomy.com/news/?p=1629

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