Fewer overweight children in Germany
The number of overweight children in Germany has dropped slightly over the past four years, a new government report shows. But senior citizens are getting fatter.
The government's 2012 nutrition report shows that the number of overweight pre-school children fell by three percent in all the German states since 2008, the Bild newspaper reported on Friday.
The percentage of children classified as obese has also dropped, by 1.8 percent.
Consumer Affairs Minister Ilse Aigner told the newspaper, "It's a positive signal, but we have to wait and see whether this trend takes hold."
The report also concluded that Germans are slowly becoming more health conscious when it comes to food: the average German devoured some 25 kilos of fish and vegetables in the past year - up 1.1 kilos from the year before.
But old people are among the unhealthiest section of the population - around 74 percent of men and 63 percent of women aged between 70 and 74 are overweight, the report said.
And taken as a whole, the state of German health has not got noticeably better: around 60 percent of German men and 43 percent of women are still classified as overweight. German men still eat a whole kilo of meat every week - way over the recommended average of between 300 and 600 grammes.
"Educating people about healthy nutrition is important," said Aigner.
The government's nutrition report is presented every four years by the Consumer Protection Ministry.
The Local/DAPD/bk
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The government's 2012 nutrition report shows that the number of overweight pre-school children fell by three percent in all the German states since 2008, the Bild newspaper reported on Friday.
The percentage of children classified as obese has also dropped, by 1.8 percent.
Consumer Affairs Minister Ilse Aigner told the newspaper, "It's a positive signal, but we have to wait and see whether this trend takes hold."
The report also concluded that Germans are slowly becoming more health conscious when it comes to food: the average German devoured some 25 kilos of fish and vegetables in the past year - up 1.1 kilos from the year before.
But old people are among the unhealthiest section of the population - around 74 percent of men and 63 percent of women aged between 70 and 74 are overweight, the report said.
And taken as a whole, the state of German health has not got noticeably better: around 60 percent of German men and 43 percent of women are still classified as overweight. German men still eat a whole kilo of meat every week - way over the recommended average of between 300 and 600 grammes.
"Educating people about healthy nutrition is important," said Aigner.
The government's nutrition report is presented every four years by the Consumer Protection Ministry.
The Local/DAPD/bk
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