Obesity: Our Struggle
■ Childhood : There is an obese child in every obese person.
Obese children, who have become so not as a result of genetically transmitted obesity, share a remarkable behaviour. Americans call it Confirmed Negativity Condition (C.N.C). These kids are very sensitive to the sufferings of people around them and to the misery in the world in general. They also consider themselves as the “good shepherds” of their family and of the rest of the world. They are first degree humanists who feel guilty for the suffering of other people. This results in a total denial of identity. They forget themselves in the process of accomplishing their mission.
They even forget that they exist. Fat children carry the weight of the world’s miseries upon their shoulders, a weight that is nothing compared to theirs. Our task today is to reassure these kids, to help them regain their identities, to help them restore their self-confidence and to teach their parents how to rebuild their children’s health. The discomfort of an obese childhood remains engrained in our adult obese health. Therefore, in order to find the cure we should go back to the source of the problem: Childhood.
■ Manipulated Children
Our children are the first victims of recurring, obvious manipulation in advertisements dedicated to unhealthy products made by agro-industries.
These products which invade the shelves of supermarkets, claiming to have nutritional merits, conceal in fact acid fat, high sugar content, and other harmful chemical elements.
The Washington deputy welcomed a recent marketing campaign consisting in posting on the packaging of frozen spinaches and carrots a character of an American TV series popular with children, named SpongeBob. This type of initiative was also taken by European policy makers. Yet these widespread advertising policies do not apply from now on solely to fruit and vegetables, but also to chocolate bars…
“The European Commission and the White House find it normal that one can manipulate children”, says professor Philip James, president of the International Platform against Obesity (IASO), a London based NGO. However, this professor militates for the prohibition of vending machines in schools. Like other Scientists, he disputes the effectiveness of products considered to be dietetic.
Daniela Israelachwili, from the CIAA, admits:
If these measures have an educational impact, it is not obvious that they result in a modification in the consumer behaviour 
Meanwhile, this NGO straightforwardly denied to the representatives of agro-industries the right to take part in information campaigns aimed at the general public.
This issue re-emerged on the European scene a few days ago in Brussels during the examination of a directive aiming at regulating the use of mentioning the words “light”, “rich in fibres” or “rich in calcium” on the food products. According to an agreement project which should be endorsed Tuesday in the European Parliament, a lollipop will be able to post only 0,5% of fat content, and its excessive sugar content should to be concealed. On the other hand, the use of an allegation such as “calcium is good for the bones” will require a preliminary authorization from the European Agency of Food Safety… As pointed out by the participants at the conference, there is no miracle cure to fight against obesity.
At a special meeting in Brussels, an NGO blamed the European Commission and Washington for supporting the agro-industry lobbies in their struggle.