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VYTENIS ANDRIUKAITIS INTERVIEW
Vytenis Andriukaitis: A Commissioner’s fight against the rise of diabetes in Europe
As a heart surgeon, you could wager that Lithuanian EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, is well qualified to understand the effects of lifestyle and food choices on anatomy, especially the effects of a poor diet. At a time when diabetes has become the trademark chronic illness of a generation, the Commissioner is looking at a holistic approach to tackling Europe’s largely lifestyle-related pandemic.
Interview by Richard Forsyth
Although he enjoyed a post as the former Health Minister of Lithuania, Andriukaitis has been a surgeon for most of his career. He was in fact the first surgeon to be put in charge of a EU health policy and of course, it makes perfect sense for someone who has had the highest level of training in the medical profession to comprehend the direct correlation between what we eat and drink and our health.
Andriukaitis is looking into strategies to address an issue that has become one of Europe’s most disturbing food linked healthcare problems, namely, the escalating pandemic that is diabetes. In this interview, EU Research asks the Commissioner just how bad the problem has become and what can be done to stem its impact on future generations.
EU Research: Diabetes seems to have become THE lifestyle disease of this era through bad eating and lifestyle choices. Just how serious a challenge is the spread of this chronic illness?
Vytenis Andriukaitis: The rise in diabetes in the EU and globally is nothing less than alarming. The number of the world’s adults living with diabetes has risen from 153 million to 415 million in the past 35 years, and within the EU, 32 million people or 7% of the adult population are currently living with diabetes. With demographic ageing and growing rates of obesity, this figure is likely to increase.
This is harmful not only to individuals’ health and wellbeing, but also to the economy. In 2013 alone, preventing and treating diabetes and its complications cost EU countries around €100 billion. The gravity of this situation calls for action at all levels, with the support of all stakeholders. We need to work together across policies – health, education, food safety, agriculture, research, and more – to reverse this alarming trend.
EU Research: What kinds of solutions are you supporting and how is it possible to curb diabetes realistically?
Vytenis Andriukaitis: Type 2 diabetes shares many of the same risk factors as other chronic diseases – an unhealthy diet, being overweight, lack of physical activity. In many cases, it is preventable. Experience has shown that simple changes in lifestyle can be effective in preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes. These include maintaining a normal weight, regular exercise and a healthy diet.
There is no magic bullet to reverse the diabetes epidemic – it calls for a multifaceted approach. The European Action Plan on Childhood Obesity, jointly developed by EU countries, takes such an approach, with a range of initiatives to support a healthy start in life, such as promoting healthier environments – especially in schools and preschools – restricting marketing and advertising for children, encouraging physical activity and increasing research.
In addition, many Member States are currently working together on diabetes within a Joint Action funded by the EU Health Programme. The ‘CHRODIS’ partners are developing best practices for the prevention and management of diabetes and proposing policy recommendations to establish or improve
© European Commission
© European Commission
national diabetes plans. A new Joint Action on chronic diseases is already being prepared to concretely support the implementation of these best practices.
Reformulating food products also constitutes part of this multifaceted approach. By removing excess sugars, salt and fat from products that are bought every day in European supermarkets, we are providing real value to citizens.
In fact, significant progress has been recently achieved in November 2016, when the basic methodology for monitoring national reformulation initiatives was endorsed by Member State representatives. As actions have to be measurable, this is an essential step towards the implementation of the agreed reformulation targets on added sugars, and also on salt and saturated fats.
EU Research: Food and drink options in supermarkets for children seem to play on a mix of salt, sugar and slick marketing to get kids to want certain unhealthy products and to keep them addicted to them. What kind of regulations or new ideas could help both children and parents understand the problems with unhealthy food and drink products?
Vytenis Andriukaitis: Aggressive marketing by food companies makes our efforts to encourage healthy eating an uphill struggle. However, I think we can take a number of steps to counteract it. For example, the current discussion in Parliament on the Audio Visual Media Services Directive is an excellent opportunity to make sure that we effectively reduce the exposure of children to marketing of nutritionally unbalanced products. Sugary drinks are certainly a concern.
We can also inform people about what constitutes a healthy diet, ensure clear information about the ingredients and nutritional value of the food we eat, and make sure the healthy choice is the easy choice. This can be done by reducing advertising and adjusting pricing but also, for instance, by adapting supermarket shelves and ‘nudging’ efforts in canteens.
Health is, of course, a national competence, and I welcome initiatives taken by some countries who have introduced a ‘sugar tax’. This, alongside other measures, could lead to healthier lifestyles. I also welcome industry initiatives such as reformulation of products to contain less sugar, and re-organising supermarkets in a way that encourages families to buy more fresh fruit and vegetables. Everyone is responsible in ensuring the health of future generations.
EU Research: With the next generations coming through, you clearly want to change how children approach diet and have even mentioned fruit vending machines. These have been invented but are not widespread – is it because they are not popular and is healthy eating suffering generally from an image problem?
Vytenis Andriukaitis: Only one in seven people over the age of 15 in the EU eats the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables every day, and one in three of us does not eat any fruit or vegetables every day according to 2016 figures. Little wonder, then, that the rate of overweight and obesity amongst adults exceeds 50% in no less than 17 EU countries.
And yet, I am convinced that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is within our grasp. Promoting this, especially amongst the young, is a policy objective of the EU. The Commission chairs various fora and platforms for EU countries to exchange best practices to promote good nutrition, and EU-financed projects such as the school milk, fruit and vegetable scheme help shape healthier eating habits in our children.
EU Research: With an overburdened healthcare sector, how can eHealth initiatives play a part in the self-monitoring of people with diabetes?
Vytenis Andriukaitis: I am convinced that the right eHealth tools offer safe and efficient care and can help adapt our healthcare systems, for example, to the rising rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases. New eHealth solutions can enable diabetic patients to monitor their own blood glucose, transmitting regularly the information electronically to their healthcare specialist.
I believe that eHealth has the potential to make European health systems more accessible and sustainable and to empower patients to manage their own health. As eHealth is one of the 10 areas identified by the Commission as a key priority of standardisation, I will make it my personal priority to continue this work with my colleagues in the Commission, Member States and our stakeholders, to maximise the potential of eHealth solutions.
EU Research: What challenges does Europe face when trying to tackle diabetes?
Vytenis Andriukaitis: Tackling diabetes and all chronic diseases requires, first and foremost, a radical shift from treatment of diseases to promotion of good health. We have solid evidence that this works, and we need to put the evidence into practice. This is a shared responsibility.
If we are to avoid raising a generation of children that are ‘fat for life’ and on the path to getting type 2 diabetes, we need to instil healthy eating habits from the earliest age. Simple acts are in the hands of all of us – parents, teachers, food producers, as well as policy makers at Member State and EU levels.
With special thanks to Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety & Nicolas Pradalié, Policy Officer – Communication & relations with the European Parliament, for their time with this interview.
www.chrodis.eu What is diabetes?
There are two classifications of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Symptoms include urinating more, extreme tiredness, blurry vision and feeling very thirsty. This is because the body cannot produce the hormone insulin effectively, which leads to the abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and higher levels of glucose in the blood. In worse case scenarios, diabetes can cause blindness, kidney failure, strokes, heart attacks and may lead to amputation of limbs. If you feel you may be suffering from the symptoms mentioned here please contact your doctor for a simple test to determine if you have the condition.
