Health ministers and other senior officials from 48 European countries have signed a charter to combat obesity in Europe, according to French-based AFP.

The measure largely rests on pointing the blame on food manufacturers, banning them from producing advertisements that market to children...

"I am certain we will propose incentives to avoid advertising that encourages children to consume products that can lead to obesity," Danzon said. "Industrialists fear there will be (additional) taxes on products such as sugar-rich drinks, but we're not there yet," he said. ..."

"Yet" is the key word.

What makes this a serious issue for Europe is the fact that European citizens rely on taxpayer supported healthcare systems. The government taxes its citizens to pay for doctors and hospitals. When you throw in additional factors like double-digit unemployment in many EU nations, and an economy that's in the dumps, it's a big issue.

This is a reason why socialized medicine (a.k.a Hillary Care) doesn't work. It creates a "nanny state" that forces its people to live by specific measures all in the interest of saving money.

But here's another question, exactly WHAT are the foods that lead to obesity? If a kid eats 12oz of prime rib and baked potato on a daily basis and gets fat from it, then should meat and potatoes be considered "foods that leads to obesity"? Eating and drinking too many fruits daily will make you fat also, because of the high volume of carbs.

Candies and burgers don't make you fat, it's over-eating and the lack of responsibility.