If supermarkets get rid of the frozen and processed food stuff and people start cooking their own meals from the raw ingredients, obesity will be on the decline. People will be more conscious of what they put into their food and also the exercise more to get food on the table!

I dont know the history of obesity in the Netherlands, but I am certain that the Dutch diet of 'snack foods' (the majority deep-fried) is a major contributing factor - coupled with decreased mobility from office work.

I thought I read not long ago that the Dutch youngsters were the most slender in Europe (because of the biking) so that doesn't paint a pretty picture for the rest of European kids !

I'm shocked. Coming from and regularly visiting the US, I would often cite the lack of overweight Dutch people to my friends and relatives in the US. Most Dutch people who ride bicycles seem to be slim and healthy but I have noticed that the young and old who ride brommers and ride in cars have a tendency to be packing in the chips.

@GGG the purpose of supermarkets is offer a choice. Frozen food is a very needed substitute which you can or cannot choose to buy. Asking supermarkets to think for customers is like asking TV to stop airing after 23.00 as people need to get their sleep before work. Its lifestyle and choices that people make which makes them obese but maybe that's what they want.

yeah, but who am i to talk, i'm trying to put on some weight not to look like I'm a shadow of some other person.

Fat people are the new public enemy. The media tells us so. Not corrupt politicians; not bankers who gamble our money and lose it all and are given yet more of our money by the corrupt politicians. Not arms dealers; not drug dealers. Not tyrants, nor those who seek to stamp their views all over our individuality.

Only fat people: These are the real cause of all evil in society. They are lurking in your neighbourhood right now. Even you might be a fat person waiting to break out of a thin body - who knows?

Bullies should not be tolerated. Not the media, and not the media-enslaved who rock while repeating the mantras they are dripfed.

Yes, Osita, fat people are not THE problem, but they are and will become a bigger problem by the day. Because compared to what looks like capital injection in the economy (see here food companies that thrive on selling chips), they 'cost' the economy quite a lot: health cost, working incapacity at rather young ages, special care, children with special care. I can continue here; but fat people as you call them will be one of the major strains on the economy of any country. And if you only start thinking about the type of behaviour overeating entails, you can easily also understands that this can make a society easily ill. And on the long term.

Frozen food and ready meals are great to watch your weight: you know exactly how many calories you're getting.

I am underweight for my height, can eat anything & all day, but not gain weight.
As it is I eat sensibly & am content. I feel sorry for the ones that have weight problems, but I often notice the shopping trolleys full of junk food.

I can only think of the prohibition of junk food advertising, and NOT the PROMOTION, would be a step in the right direction.

I would love to wake up as a fat man, but just for one day, to experience how it feels. :)

Overweight people are their own worst enemy.

@GGG: I prefer frozen veg to fresh, frozen veg is fresher & cheaper.

Processed food + added shelf-life sugars, fats, chemicals & E numbers are expensive crap!

Freezing food has nothing to do with whether or not it is healthy, that depends on what it is, more french fries anyone?

If 40% is too fat, than this means to me we could safely decrease our level of welfare from 'abundant' to a more 'standard' level.

Eat less, work more. Tax junk food heavily.

After living here for quite some time I've noticed the sudden expansion of people's waist lines.

It's ok to insult alcoholics and smokers but people are so hush when it comes to the subject of being fat. It's just as much of a health risk and many hide behind the excuse that it's their genetics.

Truth is people don't watch what they eat or at least adjust it to their lifestyle. If insurance companies want to charge more for higher risk individuals then the over weight need to be on there as well.

I agree with Roland below. Compared with other countries the Dutch population look quite slim.
However I guess there are degrees of overweight, and although 40% might be "overweight" that does not mean they are excessively so in the sense of being obese. So the headline is perhaps a bit sensationalist.

It's not like being obese is only of concern to the obese individual, since obesity is associated with myriad health problems, and treating those health problems places a huge burden on the health care system. I find it difficult to think of a place I'd less want my tax money going towards.

Check out the actual statistics here for more insights:

http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/themas/gezondheid-welzijn/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2012/2012-3651-wm.htm

Wondering to myself about a possible correlation between the advent of the internet and the precipitous rise in rates of obesity?

Is it any coincidence this news comes at a time the city of Amsterdam is covered with ads for 'light' cola?

What about the big food companies spending a record 1 billion euros lobbying to get the new labels on food, in order to teach us how to eat the right processed foods?

Is this really about our health, or is it about selling us more crap to eat?

Whilst I think osita may have been a little emotional in his/her response, I do feel that zeroing on "fat" rather than highlighting "health" is wrong. I have some friends who one might consider overweight, but who are far healthier than others i see about town.

read DON'T EAT THIS BOOK by Merton Sperling who made the movie SUPERSIZE ME. He boils it down to hypermarketing to children and false advertizing by big food companies to support chemical,suger,salt big Farma/pharma industries. My wife is from Holland and makes great homemade soup.

@GS: do you know the results of their blood exams? Because there isn't a way to know if someone is healthy just looking at their appearances or lack of hospitalization of lifestyle.

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I don't think government should be in the business of banning foods deemed unhealthy or else. However, there should be regulations in place for more information on labels, so that people can make more informed decisions.

For instance, I think FEBO and other restaurants should be required to display food labels next to their servings, containing at least calories count and info on carbs, protein and fat content per portion/serve and per 100g.

GS, I was being ironic, or sarcastic (take your pick), but it's not easily picked up by non Brits.

The point is that with all the serious issues in the world, the media chooses a target and the populous takes aim and fires without a second thought. This thread has so many moralising 'look at me I'm perfect' posts, and yet bank bailouts or resigning politicians (3 months work & 6 years severance pay) don't warrant more than a couple of posts, it seems. Fat people will die younger, don't waste your time trying to change other people because it's pointless: they already know how to fix it and they choose (CHOICE = democratic) not to.

I love how people are jumping on Overweight as Obese. The two are not the same. I am betting almost every single one of you fall into the Overweight category because the BMI range is pretty outdated, and also fails to account for athletic people (who also count as overweight due to muscle).

Overweight is not necessarily a health risk. Overweight is not necessarily even noticable. You are mixing it up with Morbid Obesity, of which there is no question there is a health issue, and the two are worlds apart. Anyone know the Dutch Morbid Obesity scores? Who cares when you can just hate on "fatties".

Godzilla and The Visitor, to clarify, I did not mean the frozen vegetables or the fresh salads. I agree that they are good for the health. I meant the calorie-rich frozen foodstuff (like patat), the calorie-rich frozen dinners, snacks, mayo, and even the salad dressings; most of these "kant en klaar" stuff is loaded with calories. Many of us do not give a second thought and take them home for an easy dinner. There are shelves and shelves of these unhealthy products, whereas just a half of that area for vegetables and fruits. If the supermarkets remove these high-fat products, or make them costlier than most vegetables, people would follow a healthier lifestyle.

Godzilla, that is true. It is all a matter of personal choice. But, people give in to temptation and buy the not-so-healthy frozen stuff. Right from one's dinner to parties. But society (incl. you and me) ends up paying for people's consistent bad choices, as in the case of the soaring insurance premium.
If there can be a ban on selling cigarettes within a radius of 200 m from schools, why can't there be a limit to the quantity of foods in supermarkets, proven to be very bad for health in the long run?

I agree with osita and bobbianderson...and would like more people to save their anger and hostility for those who deserve it. Bankers...politicians...bigots...racists...pedos...murderers...telephone solicitors...;)

Fat people are just fat...not evil greedy people with a devious plan to take all the food out of your mouths...Get some perspective people!!

@GGG: bans on food are wrong because, contrary to smoking, or even drinking (which pushed unruly/dangerous behavior), a massively glutton person will not give me diabetes, become a dangerous driver (could kill me) or give me cancer by his/her overeating habits.

On top of that, food is not addictive like drugs.

For those of you armchair fatties espousing your solutions to the problem, you should endeavor first to understand the overweight problem. People don't choose to be overweight, any more than they choose to be homosexual, or choose to be stupid. Your advice so far treats the symptoms but not the cause, and is therefor as helpful as a chocolate fireguard. Weight issues arise from numerous factors: mental state, biology, stress, physical state.

To begin to understand the problem of why people eat more, it's not because they choose to, but because their bodies are constantly nagging them to.

To begin to understand, try this: breath less. Go on, try for an hour to take 1 breath instead of 2. keep it up. Can you do it for 5 minutes? Now you're beginning to understand the willpower required to constantly avoid food. Now imagine doing it while jogging, this is the equivalent of socializing, going to a restaurant/party/etc.

As an FYI, I've lost >15kg a year ago, am still living on ~1500 calories a day, and have not been able to loose any more. I'm still "overweight". I'm tired of constantly being hungry, stressed and having to monitoring my calorie intake.

And no...I don't go to FEBO, or fast food restaurants, I eat healthily and avoid fatty foods. I exercise regularly. I can't remember the last time I had crisps or a chocolate bar.

o please, lies d*** lies and statistics , I'm an expat in the Netherlands and like all "us" expats we enjoy critising the locals from time to time (kind of an expat sport) :) But just open your eyes, if fairness to the dutchies they are in general a slim bunch, at least in relative terms compared to most other countries.

>a massively glutton person will not give me diabetes,
What if the glutton is a parent? Will (s)he make healthier choices for his kids? Does it work if he eats unhealthy stuff and asks his children to stay away from them?
Agreed, food is not so addictive as drugs; still, many people are addicted to cola, chips, etc. We drink more cola than water! May be that is a preference, not an addiction. Still, it is an unhealthy choice which can be avoided by controlling the commodities in the supermarkets.
Bans on food sound outrageous at first. But if you think deeper, you will see the reason behind it. Unhealthy foods can be made costlier, if not banned.

@GGG: gotcha, food for thought there!

@ Andre, "Food is not addictive like drugs!" Really?
Why do you think people "comfort eat" with chocolate & icecream etc.
Everything we eat causes a chemical reaction in our bodies. Doesn't matter if it's a beer or an apple.
@GGG, Caffiene is addictive & that's in so much stuff we consume every day: tea, coffee, chocolate, cola drinks etc. Which is why manufacturers add it to some foods.
The only difference I can see is between the socially acceptable & unacceptable addictions.
Everyone will be down on drunks & drug addicts but spend your day shopping,overeating etc & nobody cares!

This is happening in every country, I remember going to the US 10 years ago and being amazed by the amount of large people. Now when I go back to the UK I see it, and more and more here.
Watch the men who made us fat for some good explanations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE-H__aIEFE

Part 3 is still to air on BBC. Notice that if you eat healthy there are entire aisles in the supermarket you never need to go down!

I really don't get his commentary of "people don't choose to be fat like they don't choose to be of short stature or blind".

The overwhelming majority of overweight people (pun intended) are so because they eat too much. Simply put. Energy-rich food has never been so affordable in large scale and apparently we're still learning to deal with that.

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@Donaugh: there are major differences between the behaviors you mentioned. I don't know of people who drink 10 coffee cups a day being aggressive on traffic or dangerous due to their altered state of mind, unlike drunk or stoned people. Fatties also don't make me sick while eating 20 frikandelend and croketen, unlike smokers.

I find that slim people tend to overestimate the amount of food overweight people eat.

I know many overweight people and they DON'T stuff food down their piehole 24/7. Methinks too many people watch those reality TV shows with obese people with eating disorders. It makes them feel better about themselves, and apparently gives them permission to name call like a 10-year-old bully.

I think if we looked into some of your closets, we'd find other vices that aren't as visible to the naked eye. Judge not lest ye be judged as they say...