1. Education and Health

2. Education Starts at the age of three years when children enter the pre-primary level Although it is voluntary about 95% of the children in the age bracket between three and five years attend

3. Education All children between the ages of five and sixteen are obliged to take part in compulsory education It is sub-divided into a six-year primary cycle and five years of secondary education

4. Education At secondary level there are three different kinds of state school: –Junior Lyceums –Area Secondary Schools –schools for very low achievers An examination at the end of primary level decides which kind of school follows

5. Education Pupils who finish the Junior Lyceums are able to attend the Junior College which is the major institution providing upper secondary education Other providers are Vocational Education Colleges and Institutes who offer graduates of secondary school the opportunity to prepare for a University career

6. Education Higher education in Malta is offered at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels at the University of Malta Courses of studies last between one and six years Besides state providers there are private schools, too: –Church schools and Independent Schools –both provide education from pre-primary to upper secondary levels

7. Health In Malta it is the Ministry of Health who is responsible for promoting and ensuring a healthy lifestyle for the citizens of the Maltese Islands As a division of the Ministry, the Health Promotion Department strives to enable the Maltese people to live a healthier lifestyle

8. Health The school setting is one of the main settings the Health Promotion Department is currently working in Here, obesity plays an important role, although there is only rare data existing on the health of school children and adolescents in Malta

9. Health Data concerning obesity can be taken from the Health behavior in school- aged children (HBSC) study which was a cross-national survey of over 162 000 young people aged 11, 13 and 15 years in Europe in 2001/2002

10. Health For Malta, it showed a percentage of 29% of children at the age of 13 and 15 being obese This makes Malta a country with the highest prevalence of obesity in Europe

11. Sources: http://www.education.gov.mt/edu/edu_01.htm http://www.hbsc.org/