Cătălina Poiană, vice-rector of the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, sounds a big alarm: in just 10 years, 50% of Romanian children are at risk of becoming obese. The official advocates the introduction of health education in schools.
Romania, the country of overweight children. Photo source: archive
“For the Romanian population, the prevalence of overweight and obese children by 2035 will be almost 50% of the child population, so 1 out of 2 children will be overweight or obese”, said Cătălina Poiană, vice-rector of the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest.
She also said that “health education must be a priority and we are advocating for the introduction of these health education hours in school as soon as possible.”
Obesity comes with serious diseases
“If we look at children, the numbers are even more worrying. For the Romanian population, the prevalence of overweight and obese children by 2035 will be almost 50% of the child population, so 1 out of 2 children will be overweight or obese. And perhaps the most alarming thing is that, since childhood, obesity begins to come with some complications, namely with changes in the lipid profile of an atherogenic type, with changes in the glycemic homeostat and with increased blood pressure values that can all be attributed to an index of increased body mass”, stated Cătălina Poiană.
UMF vice-rector Carol Davila from Bucharest stated that the importance of health education classes in schools is crucial: “Health education must be a priority and we advocate for the introduction of these health education hours in school as soon as possible, because they, the children, can be the vectors of transmission even to the family, to parents and especially to grandparents. Most of the time, when it comes to the problem of obesity, we have to fight not only with parents, but also with grandparents”, added Dr. Cătălina Poiană.
Why don’t we have health education in schools
We don’t have health education in schools just like we don’t have many of the optional subjects. They only exist on paper. In reality, they do not have a place in the children’s timetable and so loaded with traditional subjects. Prof. Dana Bobocea, director of the “Grigore Moisil” National College in Bucharest, gave us an explanation: “Lin the 9th and 10th grades there is only one hour per week dedicated to these electives. What to choose? You choose according to the specialization of the class. For example, we have social studies classes that are English intensive. An English optional was also chosen. In the 11th and 12th grades there are four hours a week and here we can still juggle. In our high school, for example, Health Education is taught, but only in these large classes that specialize in Natural Sciences”, said the teacher.
On the other hand, say the education experts we spoke to, students opt for subjects that will help them in national exams. “Health education, legal education, financial education contribute to the preparation of the student for life, will help him to do better, to understand certain principles and concepts. By no means get a higher grade in the National Assessment or the Baccalaureate. And children, from this point of view, are oriented towards high grades, good results, performance“.
Another reason is that, at the moment, there is hardly anyone to teach this subject in the classroom. “Health education is done under the curricular area of mathematics and science, which also includes biology, physics and chemistry. And there is a situation: some schools say that there is no one to teach this optional. And where there would be qualified, trained teachers, the students’ parents don’t want them and, obviously, neither do the students”explained for “Adevărul” Adina Manea, director of the organization “Tineri pentru tineri”.
Romanian obesity, in numbers. Fat does not mean beautiful
According to statistics from the year 2023, more than half of Romania’s population is overweight. As for sports, we just like to watch it on TV. Here are some numbers:
- 58% of Romanians are overweight, and 20% are obese.
- 63% of Romanians did not practice any sport.
- More than 25% of children suffer from childhood obesity.
Why do we have obese children in Romania?
Due to the gross lack of education. First. Now, fewer and fewer children exercise, there is a temptation to use devices, to sit more at the desk or even in bed. And all this, at the expense of the movement that the past generations did willy-nilly. Now, the children no longer run, they no longer hit the ball in the school yard or in front of the block. And parents play an extremely important role here. But, it seems, most of them are not aware of this.
However, we are also talking about the carelessness of the authorities who do not lift a finger to prevent this disease. Romania does not have a National Plan to Combat Obesity, although the phenomenon is alarming in our country. Currently, 1 in 4 children are overweight or obese.
