SOFIA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Most Bulgarians eat unhealthy food and rarely play sports, a nationwide survey conducted by Trend Research Center from May 12 to May 18 revealed on Wednesday.
Only 6 percent of those surveyed said they led a completely healthy lifestyle, said Dimitar Ganev, a managing associate at Trend who presented the findings at a press conference. Meanwhile, 42 percent said they led a rather healthy lifestyle.
High financial costs were the main obstacle to leading a healthy life, according to 48 percent of those surveyed. Among the respondents, 41 percent said they had difficulty finding quality food, while a lack of motivation or self-discipline and a lack of reliable information were obstacles for 25 percent and 18 percent respectively.
Meanwhile, only 36 percent of respondents said they consumed fruit and vegetables every day, 47 percent several times a week, and 13 percent several times a month. Nine percent ate fast food every day, 23 percent several times a week, and 11 percent once a week, Ganev said.
The survey, which did not examine other factors such as smoking and drinking, also revealed that only 2 percent of Bulgarians played sports every day, 13 percent several times a week, and 15 percent several times a month.
Veselka Duleva, head of the Food and Nutrition department at the National Center of Public Health and Analyses, said at Wednesday's press conference that a Nutrition Council was established in 2017 under the Minister of Health. Over 22 standards for healthy foods were then developed, with only foods meeting these standards being offered in nurseries, kindergartens, and schools.
"What we haven't succeeded in yet is introducing health education in schools," Duleva said, adding that she hoped this will happen in future to enmpower children to make informed choices about nutrition.
"Metabolic health is extremely important and that is why we need to put the healthy lifestyle at the center of public attention," said Tsvetalina Tankova, head of the Department of Endocrinology at the Medical University of Sofia.
Bulgaria ranks sixth in Europe for adult obesity, and fifth for childhood obesity, and these figures speak volumes, Tankova said. ■
