Every fifth Bulgarian child suffers from overweight and about a half of kids already have this problem at the age of 18, health specialists alarmed.

Meanwhile, nearly 20% of young women, under the age of 30, are plagued with underweight, which is also a serious health problem.

Health experts gathered Monday to discuss Bulgarians' health status on the World Food Day and to compare the picture here on the global stage.

The US youth top the world in terms of obesity, they announced, but on the background of European states Bulgaria is still in unfavorable position, latest data show.

The high consumption of fat-rich foods and the scarce take-in of fresh fruit and vegetables were outlined as the main reasons for the dramatic health situation in Bulgaria.

Too much salt, sugar and red meat is on the table of the average Bulgarian, health experts said and recommended more fish and dairy products, salads and fruit.

The discussion participants were univocal that local producers of veggie, orchard and fish products should be stimulated in a way to help divert the obesity trend among Bulgarians.

Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has called on the world's rich nations to do more in the global fight against hunger. To commemorate World Food Day, the agency stressed that its goal for the millenium is to cut in half the number of people starving by the year 2015.

Worldwide 850-million people suffer from malnutrition and hunger-related disorders, more than half of them are children.

The aim in marking World Food Day on October 16 is to heighten awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the battle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

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