Health of a Nation campaign

“In these days, our Prime Minister hosting his distinguished guests to pastizzi and tea makes headline news. It is also in the news that the Obesity Bill, passed unanimously over a year ago in Parliament, has still not become law and Alleanza Bidla notices that Malta is officially said to be the fattest nation in Europe... by a wide margin,” says party leader Ivan Grech Mintoff.

It is not just the adults either as the overweight... obese epidemic is also present in children. In the most recent Health Behaviour in SchoolAged Children (HSBC) survey (2013–2014), Malta ranked as the country with the highest prevalence of obese children aged between 11 and 15.

Obesity is estimated to cost the EU €70 billion annually according to data from a seminar at the European Parliament on Fighting the burden of obesity. In Malta, the figure for health care and lost productivity is €45-€50 million per year as quoted by Minister Fearne during a press conference held last December.

Mr Grech Mintoff adds, “To us at Alleanza Bidla, this situation and the government’s inactivity in its regard is utterly unacceptable and so we have taken an initiative to launch our own Health of a Nation campaign.”

Alleanza Bidla has teamed up with Malta Muscle which is run by former UK Police Riot Squad and Unarmed Defensive Combat instructor, Black Belt and personal trainer, Paul Bellard, who due to injuries and life challenges, he himself has twice fallen into long-term obesity and depression and on both occasions, he has beaten it by understanding what it takes to transform a life’s mess into a message for life.”

For more information about this campaign and how you can get involved in our free of charge, bi-weekly fitness scheme that will run for a month, contact Alleanza Bidla at info@alleanzabidla.com or 7987 9879.