ABSTRACT
For many years, European officials, medical scientists, and nutritionists thought that obesity was a problem on the other side of the Atlantic. By 2005, however, it appeared that a higher percentage of men were obese or overweight in Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Malta and Slovakia than the estimated 67 percent of men in the United States (IOTF 2005). While this discovery may have prompted the European Union (EU) to improve nutrition, enhance consumer information, and strengthen food quality, European institutions have in fact a long tradition of regulating nutrition and food products.
