Can Policy Help Fight Childhood Obesity in Malta?
- Darren Bezzina
- Jul 22, 2025
- 3 min read
A National Crisis — But Are We Responding?
Malta has long been ranked among the top countries in Europe for childhood obesity. The health risks are well known — from early onset diabetes to lifelong cardiovascular issues.
But here’s the real question:
Are we using policy effectively to create healthier environments for our children?
How the Study Worked
This was a cross-sectional study carried out in 2018–2019. Researchers wanted to understand how parents in Malta feel about different policies to tackle childhood obesity.
Who Took Part?
Parents or guardians of 1,880 primary school children (aged 5–11)
From 7 schools across Malta and Gozo:
4 state schools
2 church schools
1 independent (private) school
Schools were chosen to reflect different regions and school types
What Did They Do?
Parents filled in a paper questionnaire (available in both Maltese and English)
The questionnaire was adapted from a UK version and reviewed by local experts
What Did It Ask?
Basic info about the family (age, job, income, etc.)
Views on who is responsible for childhood obesity
Support for 22 possible government policies (like banning junk food ads aimed at kids)
Barriers to staying healthy
Parents also reported their own height and weight — and their child’s — to calculate BMI
How Was It Analysed?
Answers were grouped into “agree”, “neutral”, or “disagree”
BMI was analysed using WHO health standards
Jobs were grouped using international classifications
This approach helped researchers understand what Maltese parents support — and where future policies should focus.
What They Found
A 2023 study conducted in Malta surveyed 1,169 parents or guardians of children aged 5–11, offering one of the most in-depth looks yet at public support for policies to address childhood obesity.
Key Findings:
Parents know obesity is a problem — and they’re willing to help fix it.
94% of respondents said parents are mainly responsible.
But 86% also believed society (schools, government, supermarkets, etc.) must share the responsibility.
Food is the biggest barrier — not exercise.
93% said fast food is too easily available.
By contrast, only 25% thought physical activity (PA) was too expensive.
Yet, the most supported policies were about physical activity, not food.
Support for policy is high — especially when it helps, not punishes.
94% supported more safe spaces for PA.
91% backed free weight management services for children.
90% supported increasing PE in schools to 1 hour a day.
Taxation policies were less popular.
Fewer than half supported food taxes outright.
But support increased to 53% if taxes were used to improve healthcare.
Education matters.
Parents with higher education were significantly more supportive of most policies.
Those with lower education levels were less likely to support taxing or labelling policies.
What This Means for Malta
This study reveals an important mismatch: Parents know food environments are the root of the problem…But they prefer physical activity-based solutions that don’t challenge eating habits directly.
This could be due to convenience or discomfort with change — but it raises a key issue:
We can’t tackle childhood obesity without confronting our food systems.
Relying only on "soft" policies (like more PE or public spaces) won’t be enough.We need to address:
Junk food availability
Food advertising aimed at children
Portion sizes, labelling, and reformulation
A Call to Action
To address childhood obesity in Malta, the government needs to take bold steps — backed by public support:
Policy Priorities:
Create more public spaces for PA
Provide free services for overweight children
Increase school-based PA to 1 hour daily
Subsidise fruit and vegetables
Introduce food taxes — but reinvest them in public health
Improve front-of-pack food labels (traffic light system)
Restrict junk food advertising near schools and online
Launch education campaigns to improve health literacy
Most parents are ready for change — but they need the system to support them.
The message is clear:
Children can’t choose their food environment. It’s our job to shape it for them.
Let’s move from awareness to action. Malta’s future depends on it.
Full Citation
Borg, M., Cauchi, D., Gauci, C., & Calleja, N. (2023). Addressing childhood obesity through policy: A cross-sectional study in Malta. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, 64(3), E323. https://doi.org/10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2023.64.3.323
It’s time to stop saying “we should” — and start acting like our children’s health depends on it.
Because it does.
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