Roisin O’Sullivan, Madrid Office, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board

One in four Spanish children between 3 and 5 years are obese or overweight, according to a recent study by - Fundación Thao, a foundation which works with the Spanish ministries of Education and Health and runs programs to promote healthy habits among schoolchildren. This percentage rises to 30% in the case of all children under study with 21.7% overweight and 8.3% obese.

There is still a high level of sedentary action, with 24% of children aged 8 to 13 years spending up to two hours daily watching television and a similar percentage (24.4%) are spending the same time at the computer. Unhealthy diets and a lack of exercise are to blame for the rapidly-growing trend.

Attempting to combat this issue - Carrefour Spain launched their sixth consecutive campaign to combat childhood obesity in October, this time under the slogan 'Bocata Sano: aprendiendo a comer’ 'Snack Healthy: learning to eat' which aims to raise awareness amongst kids of the importance of a balanced diet to avoid health problems.

The initiative, which was developed with the support and advice of nutrition experts from Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, is divided into two parts. The first is given by a nutritionist, where the students learn about the different types of foods that should make up each of the main meals, those to be taken in larger quantities, or what eating habits are healthier for them. Then they themselves put the knowledge acquired into practice, by visiting one of Carrefour’s to supermarket facilities in groups and shopping according to the nutritional criteria. In total, it is estimated that more than 1,700 children in 3rd and 4th grades (aged 8-10) participated in these activities.

Carrefour also shows nutritional information on the labels of their own branded products for over five years. The company also provides information on the ingredients of each product, indicating both the nature of the fats used as the specific name of each additive to help customers in their identification.