Miñones: “The key to advancing health is to promote a culture of prevention and create an environment that promotes healthy lifestyles”

The acting Minister of Health spoke today at the High-Level Meeting “An integral framework to reduce childhood obesity in the EU” that was held today at the Palacio de Congresos de Palma as part of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union

The acting Minister of Health, José Miñones, has defended the need to promote the culture of prevention and generate an environment that enhances healthy lifestyles as key aspects to advance health and address childhood obesity.

He highlighted this during his speech at the High-Level Meeting “An Integral Framework to Reduce Childhood Obesity in the EU” held today at the Palais des Congrès in Palma, as part of the agenda of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

As Miñones recalled, childhood and adolescence are particularly vulnerable stages, in which a large part of the habits that accompany people throughout their lives are forged. For this reason, he explained, specific measures must be implemented that have an impact on health promotion and prevention against the disease.

This is the case, he has detailed, of the National Strategic Plan for the Reduction of Childhood Obesity (2022-2030), prepared by the Government of Spain, in collaboration with the Gasol Foundation, and whose objective is to reduce overweight and childhood and adolescent obesity in Spain by 25% over the next decade.

As the acting minister recalled, this Plan, in which up to 15 ministries, collectives and associations of the sector, the WHO and UNICEF collaborate, constitutes a “road map” with 200 lines of action, to achieve the goal of building a “Spain in Plan Bien”.

As part of the Strategic Plan 2022-2030, and with the intention of “acting where our young people develop and relate”, the Ministry of Health, through the State Foundation Health, Childhood and Social Welfare (CSAI), and the High Commissioner against Child Poverty have launched the program ‘Open Patios – En Plan Bien’; a project that emphasizes the importance of local entities for health promotion.

Aimed at children between 6 and 11 years old and their families, it promotes healthy habits in an integral way through the opening and dynamization of the courtyards and facilities of educational centers during non-school hours, with activities related to physical exercise, food, rest or emotional well-being, among other aspects.

A project that completes its second year of life, in which a total of 30 centers participate and which, Miñones has advanced, will serve so that the Ministry of Health and the Gasol Foundation can also carry out an evaluation of the actions that are being developed and their impact on the populations where the program has been implemented.

The Minister of Health has endorsed the Government’s commitment to the response to childhood obesity, inside and outside Spain, not only giving it priority in the health agenda of the Presidency of the Council of the EU with the holding of the High-Level Meeting that took place this week in Palma, but also requesting an opinion from the European Economic and Social Committee that recognizes the urgency and importance of the fight against childhood obesity.

In the words of José Miñones, the Presidency of the Council of the EU is also an opportunity to lead a strategic reflection on the issues that the European Union must prioritize with concrete measures and plans, among which must be the fight against childhood obesity.

In this regard, the acting Minister of Health has also highlighted the impact that obesity has on the appearance of other associated diseases, such as early diabetes, various types of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, as well as its negative impact on mental health.

As reflected in the STEPS Study, presented by the Gasol Foundation, 29% of children in Europe are overweight and Spain is among the countries of the European Union with the highest prevalence of obesity, with about 18%.

The event was also attended by, among other personalities, the delegate of the Government to the Balearic Islands, Aina Calvo; the Secretary of State for Health, Silvia Calzón; the Councillor for Health of the Balearic Islands, Manuela García; the Director of the Department of Public Health and Environment of the WHO, María Neira; the High Commissioner against Child Poverty, Ernesto Gasco; the Mayor of Las Palmas de Gran Gran Canaria, Carolina Darias; the Director of the CSAI Foundation, Díol, and the Canarian Foundation.