VOICE OF THE
WORKERS ISSUE 33 AUGUST 2014
Contents Dragging the Fat
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Promoting the Healthy Choice 03 Obesity kills millions and costs billions
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The Obesity Issue
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The Obesity Challenge Across Europe
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OBESITY THE POVERTY SYMPTOM Work is a human right. However, if we are to call ourselves a modern, European economy, we also need to talk about the right quality of work as a human right. This also equates with our general quality of life. We need to make sure that it is not only the supply of work that is important, but also the conditions that make workers better, productive and happier people. Naturally, workers’ personal health is paramount. This does not just include the provision of medical care when needed, but also disease prevention and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. VOICE OF THE
WORKERS
Unfortunately, many of us still take healthy lifestyles for granted. We all say that eating healthily, having plenty of exercise and a obtaining better work-life balance are important for our well-being; but our actions say otherwise. We seem to concentrate on the here and now aspects, rather than on future consequences. Unfortunately, many workers awaken to reality when illness and health troubles creep in. Most of us lead sedentary lifestyles. It starts from the home, and continues at the place of work. Many workers become quite literally couch potatoes,
EDITOR’S NOTE JOSEF VELLA walking only from bed to chair, to car seat, to office chair, back to car seat, to sofa and back to bed. The consequences on our health and sense of well-being are disastrous. We need to look forward and strive to change this culture. We need to work towards relinquishing being top of table when it comes to being overweight and obese. We have to start introducing best practice even at work, where more emphasis can be given to physical exercise and healthy eating. We need to encourage our restaurants to cut down on the generally high cost of a salad, and compensate by increasing the price of fatty foods. 1