Health behaviour surveys have shown that Maltese children are among the most obese in the world. Being strongly related to overweight, I am also not surprised that 10 per cent of our population has some form of diabetes. A recent Eurobarometer survey has also found the Maltese are the laziest EU citizens.

As the WHO came up with the word “globesity”, to describe the global obesity pandemic disease, I have invented a new term: “maltesity”, referring to obesity (and associated diseases) at a national level.

Our bodies are not solely sculptured by what we eat and drink. A healthy balanced diet may lead to optimum weight, but diet alone will not shape-up our bodies. We need to tone and build strong muscles, strengthen the heart (which is also muscle tissue), increase bone mass and improve joint stability. Have you noticed, when shaking hands with most young men today, that it is like shaking hands with a dead fish? And what about those matchstick legs? So, physical activity is crucially important.

Furthermore, a medical report in The Lancet suggests that the current widely held recommended level of an hour a day of moderate activity for children may not be sufficient to prevent future health problems such as blood pressure and cholesterol. The abstract of the study, which involved over 1,700 children, can be viewed on www.oxha.org/alliance-alert/2006-q3-july2013sept/alert.2006-07-24.7522446246

In an article that appeared in another newspaper, Commissioner for Children Sonia Camilleri also pointed out that schools have an important role in ensuring that children have more than a 30-minute break and the odd PE lesson.

It seems that a great percentage of the Maltese public are aware of the importance of a balanced healthy diet coupled with physical activities. It is therefore high-time that we move to some concrete legislative action.

A lot of brainstorming has focused on the nutritional aspect of this problem such as prohibiting the sale of junk food and sweets from tuck shops, among others, but as regards the physical part, I believe that we are not grabbing the bull by the horns.

People concerned with this national problem have recently suggested walking or cycling to school. These are all good ideas, but in my opinion they are not enough to address maltesity because they unfortunately present a number of problems.

I cannot imagine walking or cycling to school along certain dangerous and heavily polluted roads that are often congested with traffic. I also cannot imagine how an obese child who has never ridden a bike will one fine day start cycling. And what about rainy days?

One should also remember that many children only live a stone’s throw from their school and for those who have longer distances to cover, walking or cycling with breakfast still going down their oesophagus is not a good idea. And what about those parents who tell you that every minute counts before they go to work?

Also, who will transport their heavy bags and supervise and monitor their movements, while providing first-aid when required? Walking using improper footwear can damage developing ankles and knee joints. Cycling is even much more demanding, requiring safety gear, adequate parking facilities and, preferably, cycling paths as well.

Why is everyone afraid to promote PE as a compulsory, daily subject and leave everything in the hands of qualified PE instructors? I think that PE should be as important as Maltese, English or Mathematics. School leavers should be physically assessed prior to claiming their school-leaving certificates. Why should a 16-year-old boy, for example, be unable to perform at least one set of 10 good push-ups and three proper chin-ups? Obviously, physically unfit children who suffer from certain conditions such as hypothyroidism, would be exempted from the test.

Now, whether daily PE lessons will replace other less important subjects, or whether schools should remain open till 3pm, is outside the scope of this letter. But it is already a headache that children in Malta start attending private lessons from a very young age, and even have to go to the muzew or dutrina to receive the first Holy Communion or the sacrament of Confirmation. So, it is not advisable that these poor children attend private gyms as well, when all schools nowadays have sports’ facilities.

It is true that life expectancy has increased, but we do not want to have a generation that is lazy, sick, and prematurely old, that opts to be boarded out from work at the first opportunity it has. We want to have a physically and mentally healthy population, ready to meet the challenge of having to work till 65 and beyond, as the modern trend is demanding.

In this letter I used the abbreviation PE, rather than PT (physical training) on purpose because the letter “E” stands for “education”, and shows that the education system has a very important and direct role in the physical formation of children. Suggesting alternatives outside school hours would be simply removing this responsibility from schools.

C. Micallef

Fgura