Council Resolution

of 14 December 2000

on health and nutrition

(2001/C 20/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(1) NOTES that the citizens of the European Union attach great importance to health, and consider it to be an essential part of the quality of life.

(2) RECALLS the Resolution of 3 December 1990(1) concerning an action programme on nutrition and health, the objectives of which are still generally valid, as well as the conclusions of 15 May 1992(2).

(3) EMPHASISES once again the importance of nutrition as one of the key determinants of human health and notes that the state of health of the population can therefore be protected and improved by targeting action on nutrition.

(4) STATES that scientific work has clearly shown that an unhealthy diet, combined with inadequate physical activity, is one of the main avoidable risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases - which are one of the main causes of death in the European Union; that it has also been demonstrated that an unbalanced diet encourages the development of other serious conditions, such as certain types of cancer, osteoporosis, non-hereditary diabetes and some pathological forms associated with specific nutrient deficiencies.

(5) IS CONCERNED by the consequences of the increase in obesity and overweight in the European Union, particularly among children and adolescents.

(6) NOTES that, despite the remarkable progress in the eating and dietary habits of the people of the European Union, the population is still at risk of nutrition-related health problems and that certain groups, such as children, adolescents, the elderly and the poor, continue to be more exposed to the consequences of a poor diet.

(7) EMPHASISES that poor nutrition leads to higher social and health costs for Member States.

(8) NOTES that knowledge of the nutritional situation with regard to food intake and dietary habits varies not only from one Member State to another but also within the Member States.

(9) NOTES the changes in the various diets and food cultures in the European Union and the increasing importance of mass catering and pe-prepared foods in particular.

(10) NOTES that despite the progress which has been made in the field of nutritional information and labelling there is still not a sufficient guarantee of reliable, consistent and accessible information on the nutritional characteristics of foodstuffs and on the nutritional quality of diets.

(11) CONSIDERS that the diversity of food cultures throughout the European Union constitutes a valuable asset that ought to be respected, and that it is necessary to take this into account when drawing up and implementing nutritional health policies, which must therefore be defined first of all at national level.

(12) EMPHASISES, however, that many Community policies, particularly in the fields of public health, agriculture, fisheries, research, transport, consumer protection and the internal market, have such an impact that those national nutritional policies can have full effect only if aspects relating to nutritional health are taken into account in the drafting and implementation of the Community policies concerned.

(13) NOTES that action to improve the availability of and access to healthy food as well as information about healthy diet are important components of nutrition policy.

(14) CONSIDERS that action on nutritional health must be given an adequate place in the future Community action programme on public health.

(15) CONSIDERS that if a health and nutrition policy is to be effective it must be based, inter alia, on exchanges of experience and information as well as on cooperation and training of all the parties concerned, including nutritional health professionals, operators in the sector, consumers and non-governmental organisations.

(16) INVITES Member States, within the context of their national nutritional health policies, to:

(i) set the population, from early childhood on, in better stead to make informed food choices by promoting healthy attitudes and eating and dietary habits and by providing relevant information;

(ii) involve all parties concerned in the discussion and promotion of nutritional health;

(iii) continue to develop the production, dissemination and implementation of nutritional health;

(iv) improve the nutritional knowledge of health professionals and those working in the field of foods and nutrition;

(v) participate actively in the data collection networks on nutrition and physical activity in the Community;

(vi) encourage national experts to participate in Community activities, and in particular to produce scientific evidence.

(17) NOTES that in its White Paper on food safety the Commission envisages inter alia the establishment of a global, consistent nutrition policy, as well as the presentation of an action plan on nutrition and recommendations for dietary guidelines.

(18) INVITES the Commission to study ways of promoting better nutrition within the European Union, if necessary presenting appropriate proposals to that end, and particularly to:

(i) allow for nutritional health to be taken into account when drawing up and implementing any relevant Community policies and develop tools for assessing the impact of other Community policies on nutritional health;

(ii) continue to develop tools to monitor nutritional health and its determinants, drawing on existing tools in use by Member States, in order to obtain comparable data, and ensure regular assessment of this data, complementing work by Member States;

(iii) support and promote regular exchanges of experience in the area of health and nutrition;

(iv) facilitate the development of scientific evidence in the area of nutritional health by experts in this field, in particular to provide backing for and to update national or local dietary guidelines and the information given to consumers;

(v) support research into the links between health and nutrition, into diet-related diseases, into an understanding of eating and dietary habits and into the impact of policies on health and nutrition;

(vi) facilitate the exchange of information on nutrition-related training courses and professions;

(vii) develop the use of nutritional labelling, by adapting it to the needs of consumers, and of other means of providing nutritional information;

(viii) examine the possibility of conducting projects to promote diets, which could include subjects as diverse as fruit and vegetable consumption and breastfeeding;

(ix) consider the use of new information technologies to improve the information available to those involved in this sector, and also to the public;

(x) plan follow-up to nutrition activities.

19. INVITES the Commission to continue to cooperate with the relevant international organisations, in particular the WHO, to ensure effective coordination of activities and avoid any duplication.

(1) OJ C 329, 31.12.1990, p. 1.

(2) OJ C 148, 12.6.1992, p. 2.