Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/434696
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2014 2 News 82% of deaths in Malta are caused by unhealthy diets Chris Fearne calls for culture change in food, lifestyle choices PARLIAMENTARY secretary Chris Fearne yesterday stressed the need to make healthy food the natural option for people in all sectors of society. Highlighting the fact that 82% of deaths in Malta are caused by non- communicable diseases, principally cardiovascular diseases, cancer, di- abetes and chronic respiratory dis- eases, Fearne said that the country needs to invest heavily in preventive measures. Addressing a conference launch- ing the food and nutrition policy and action plan, the junior minister said, "By and large individual efforts to become fitter fail because of the obesogenic society we live in, which encourages people to eat more and badly." Pointing out that the Maltese cal- endar and culture "pushes us to eat more and more," Fearne said that 58% of the Maltese population is either overweight or obese, adding, "We have a lot to gain from invest- ing in prevention measures." With obesity costing the country some €30 million a year, Fearne said, "We need to change things we like doing. Unless we do it, we'll lose the battle." Stressing that unhealthy diets are responsible for a range of health problems in the country, Fearne said that the main public health challenges are the high prevalence of obesity in adults, adolescents and children. He pointed out that the action plan's objectives include simple measures such as reducing sugar, trans fats and salt intake, he said, "We need to make the healthy op- tion the easy option by making healthier foods more accessible to all." The conference was also addressed by the Director of the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe, Zsuzsnna Jakab, who said that the rate of obesity in Europe had reached "scary" levels, with one in every four children being over- weight or obese. "Malta is no exception, especially in school children, and we must en- courage and revive the Mediterra- nean diet, which has been declared as a world heritage by the UN," Jakab said, adding that diet and physical exercise were the keys to a healthier society. Health Promotion Department di- rector Charmaine Gauci explained that doing nothing on the obes- ity problem would raise the health services bill to treat diet-related dis- eases to €34 million by 2020 while reducing Malta's rate of obesity by 4.3% until 2020 would save the country some €3 million a year. She said that the Maltese consume far too much red meat and very little fish, and the country is second only to Mexico in the consumption of sugary drinks, mainly soft drinks. Legal amendments geared towards attracting investment in aviation sector Government looking at expanding aviation registry and attracting more investment and jobs in the aviation sector JURGEN BALZAN CIVIL aviation authorities are in talks with a commercial airline which is interested in registering its aircraft in Malta, the director general for civil aviation at Trans- port Malta said yesterday. Speaking to the media during a public consultation on the revi- sion of the Aircraft Registration Act, George Borg Marks did not wish to give more details on the negotiations at this stage, but he remarked that other companies had already relocated from abroad over the years. Sucessive governments have ac- tively sought to bolster the bud- ding aviation industry by invest- ing in ancillary services such as maintenance, repair and over- haul operations and the proposed amendments to the law regulating the registration of aircraft aims at giving the country a cutting edge and guarantee legal security to op- erators. Moreover, the fiscal incentives have been matched by investments in infrastructure to accommodate key players in the aviation sector, especially through the €17 mil- lion Safi Aviation Park opened in 2012. During the public consultation meeting, industry operators were given a presentation by law yer Max Ganado on proposed amendments to the aircraft registration act. Tourism Minister Edward Zam- mit Lewis said the law was being fine-tuned to ref lect today's reali- ties and attract more companies to register their aircraft in Malta. Currently, around 172 aircraft are registered in Malta and the aviation industry directly employs around 2,000 people on a full-time basis. The sector contributes around 3.5% of GDP and most aircraft reg- istered in Malta are private busi- ness jets which are used by VIPs and businesses based abroad. "We are making the law more at- tractive to draw more operators to Malta, which will result in more investment, revenue and jobs," Zammit Lewis said. However, the government is looking at improving the sector beyond the legal and fiscal frame- works and the tourism minis- ter explained that in the coming months more incentives will be launched. Noting that the aviation industry has registered notable growth over the years, the minister said "we'll offer more incentives to achieve more growth and we are looking beyond simply extending the air- craft registry but we are aiming at expanding the aviation industry cluster." Ancillary services include air- craft leasing, aircraft finance serv- ices, maintenance and repair op- erations and other services such as English aviation language courses. www.gourmettoday.recipes PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD Chris Fearne: Unhealthy diets are responsible for a range of health problems Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis wants to draw more aviation operators to Malta