Favourite foods revealed

Maltese 10- and 11-year-olds are the second fattest on the planet, according to the latest research. Kristina Chetcuti heads to the supermarkets to find out just what we’re eating – and learns that Twistees and corned beef still top some shopping lists. Switch on the television and it’s awash with cookery programmes; walk down Valletta’s Republic Street and you’re handed pamphlets with advice about food portions; drive on the roads and you’ll see billboards promoting a healthy food campaign. Despite all this, how well are we eating? Not well at all it seems, if we were to take to the scales. Maltese children rank second fattest on the planet; Maltese men are the most obese in Europe; Maltese women place third in Europe; and as taxpayers we fork out about €80 million a year to treat obesity and related complications. Are we paying any heed to the alarming figures? What kind of food are we buying and eating? The largest supermarkets on the island – Arkadia (Portomaso and Gozo), Smart (Birkirkara), Tower (Sliema) and Chain (Fgura and Zabbar) – supplied The Sunday Times of Malta with a list of their top 20 food and beverage items sold last year. Fresh milk, meat products, bread and...