"Obesity is a disease. It is not an aesthetic problem, but a health problem," said Croatian First Lady Sanja Musić Milanović.
"Obesity is a complex multifactorial disease - marked E65 - which is a risk factor for other non-communicable diseases and is recognised as the only common risk factor for leading non-communicable diseases today," she pointed out at the opening of the summit.
The summit was jointly organised by the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia and the European Office of the World Health Organisation (WHO), and should lay the foundations for concerted action against childhood obesity.
The hosts of that inaugural summit meeting were the Croatian president's wife, Musić Milanović, and the executive director of the European Office of the World Health Organisation, Robb Butler. Queen Letizia of Spain is also participating in the summit.
"Childhood obesity increases the risk of chronic diseases," Buttler said. "One in three primary school children in our region is overweight or obese. That's a pretty big number and it reminds us why we're here today. According to the trends, we see these numbers going up," he said.
Obesity is not just excess calories
Obesity and overweight have far-reaching consequences both on an individual level because they are associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer and a reduced quality of life. It significantly burdens healthcare systems, it was pointed out at the summit.
"In the last 50 years, the prevalence of obesity in children has increased more than four times," said Musić Milanović.
Queen Letizia pointed out that it is no longer just a question of calorie surplus, but the problem is more complex - it is about social, environmental and economic factors. She mentioned the sensitivity of poorer communities that do not have access to healthy food, chemicals that affect the endocrine system or intestinal microbiota.
"Every indicator shows that obesity is also a symptom of inequality," she pointed out.
Among the spouses of European leaders who gathered in Zagreb were the spouses of the presidents of Slovenia, Hungary and Serbia as well as the spouses of leaders from Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Malta, Albania and Armenia, and some participated via video link.
Obesity and Covid
The summit highlighted the connection between the Covid 19 pandemic and obesity.
Musić Milanović said that the Covid-19 pandemic had a double connection with obesity - on the one hand, it showed that obesity is a factor in the often more severe development of the disease, and at the same time, due to confinement and less physical activity, the number of overweight children and adults increased.
"Some countries started to reduce the numbers, but then the corona pandemic came. According to the initial figures during the years when Covid reigned, obesity increased," said the Croatian first lady, a doctor specialising in obesity.
Buttler said a number of factors had created a "perfect storm", adding that it needed to create a healthy environment for children, integrate physical activity, emphasise the importance of breastfeeding up to 6 months, and tackle advertising of unhealthy foods aimed at children.
The event was addressed by Zagreb mayor Tomislav Tomašević, who highlighted what the city is doing in the fight against childhood obesity, and Health Minister Vili Beroš, who said that he sees today's summit as an opportunity to work on establishing a regional centre for the prevention of childhood obesity within WHO with headquarters in Zagreb.
"By 2030, 32.4 percent of men and 30.49 percent of women in Croatia will have this problem. In order to prevent this, we need to react from childhood," the minister pointed out.