Taxes could be cut on healthy foods and increased on fatty ones as part of a drive to tackle an alarming rise in obesity and related illnesses.

The move, aimed at giving people an extra incentive to ditch junk food, is one of a raft of recommendations in a new Healthy Weight Action Plan announced by Health Minister Michael Scott yesterday.

It is hoped Cabinet will approve a revising of Bermuda's taxation structure later this year, meaning it can be implemented by 2009.

The action plan calls for 14 new health measures, including a nutrition policy and more physical activities at schools; promoting walking ahead of car usage; and ensuring Government vending machines are loaded only with healthy snacks.

It comes after statistics at the end of last year showed 63 percent of adults in Bermuda are overweight or obese, up from 57 percent in 1999, while a quarter of the Island's children are overweight or obese.

In the same period, the proportion of adults with high blood pressure has increased from seven percent to 25 percent; and high cholesterol from eight percent to 34 percent.

Heart disease, which is linked to both conditions, remains the Island's number one killer by claiming more than a third of all deaths.

Chief Medical Officer John Cann, who has been involved with the development of the plan, said taxing food depending on its health value could make a big difference.

Dr. Cann said it was currently too tempting for people to buy 'empty calory' snacks like potato chips, while shunning the relatively highly priced fresh fruit and vegetables.

"The foods which are obesigenic, that increase our propensity to put on weight, tend to be the cheapest foods," said Dr. Cann.

"With limited land mass in Bermuda, and decreasing farm acreage, the costs of fresh vegetables can be higher and some people may find them less attractive to buy. This is trying to look at how to redress some of that."

Dr. Cann said the whole community had a responsibility to help fight obesity.

"The rates are a result of our changing lifestyle. We are not as active as our grandparents, and we eat differently. The answers are very simple: increase physical activity and have a healthier diet.

"Too often, we blame individuals; we look at them and say their lifestyle must be wrong. We all have to look at trying to be healthy. We have to change norms. It's not just individuals. Restaurants and supermarkets can help by thinking about things like portion size."

The action plan, put together by the Department of Health's Well Bermuda Partnership, has been developed after several years of research and short-term initiatives.

Mr. Scott told a press conference the plan would "tackle the tremendous local problem of overweight and obesity in youth and adults".

"Health authorities globally have concluded that obesity is reaching pandemic proportions," said Mr. Scott.

"The proportion of obese population has grown by 400 percent in the last 25 years in many high-income countries. In Bermuda, as in other places, this is a major public health concern."

Earlier this week, health promoter Jennifer Attride-Stirling of the Department of Health warned Bermuda's children face shorter life spans than their parents due to high levels of diabetes and obesity.

Dr. Attride-Stirling said 24 percent of children in Bermuda were overweight or obese, adding that youngsters who have diabetes before reaching their teens face heart problems in their twenties and death in their thirties.

Yesterday, Mr. Scott said he was worried about the number of overweight children he saw as he went about his daily business.

"It's a real concern," he said. "Government owes it to their citizens to ensure we turn these children around from this kind of journey. But this is not a place for pity, it is a place for action."

He said education and influence from parents, siblings and other family members could all improve the situation.

Jessica Wade, a dietician and diabetes expert at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, backed the action plan yesterday.

On changing tax rates in relation to a food's health value, Mrs. Wade said: "Some people do comment on the cost of fruit and vegetable. They are more expensive here than they would be in North America, for example.

"We would encourage anything that reduces the costs of those foods to promote a healthy diet."

* What do you think? Have you successfully lost weight? E-mail Tim Smith at tsmith@royalgazette.bm