Across the globe, public health policy is under pressure. In his first weeks as US President, Donald Trump has slashed aid programs and withdrawn from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Similarly, Ursula von der Leyen held back on policies such as stricter regulation of food, alcohol, and tobacco. As politicians denounce the ‘nanny state’, the evidence is ramping up: if anything, European governments should do more nannying, not less.
Christoph Aluttis | 03 March 2025
According to the ‘Nanny State Index’, a survey by free-market think tanks on the freedom that Europeans enjoy in their diets and habits, Norwegians are the least free to consume as they please. The list exemplifies the thinking of free market advocates: the ‘nanny state’, regulating public health and nutrition, restricts our freedom to live the lives we want.
But what is this much-valued freedom worth if it allows food and drink industries to produce and market products that harm our well-being?
Addicted to alcohol
Europe has a drinking problem. It’s so severe that the continent leads the world in alcohol consumption. According to the WHO, the average European consumes 9.2 litres of pure alcohol per year – twice the global average. Alcohol is deeply ingrained in European cultures. As central as it is to many traditions, it’s also very harmful. Alcohol is linked to 800,000 deaths annually in Europe.
Unlike tobacco, which is regulated at the EU level, alcohol policies remain fragmented, reflecting national priorities rather than a unified commitment to public health.
Despite the overwhelming evidence of alcohol’s harm, European governments have made surprisingly little progress in implementing effective policies. And yet, working solutions are well-known: (1) increasing taxes, (2) imposing comprehensive restrictions on alcohol marketing, and (3) reducing the overall availability of alcohol.
The increasing presence of ultra-processed foods in diets
A similar hands-off approach applies to ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which comprise an ever-increasing part of European countries’ diets. From sodas and energy drinks to potato chips and frozen ready meals, Europeans get an average of 26% of their daily calorie intake from UPFs, with some countries even reaching 50%. UPFs are high in calories but low in essential nutrients, delivering excessive energy while lacking vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein.
The food industry has mastered a science of addiction, blending sugar, fat, salt, and artificial additives to make products nearly impossible to resist. In addition, misleading ‘healthy’ labels and aggressive advertising – often targeting children – further manipulate consumer choices.
While food is usually meant to nourish and sustain those who consume it, the production and marketing of nutrient-poor UPFs are driven primarily by corporate profit motives. While profit-making is not inherently problematic, it becomes a serious concern when financial gains are prioritised at the expense of the consumer’s health and well-being.
A recent review published in The British Medical Journal in 2023 analysed multiple studies and found that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods is linked to an increased risk of numerous health issues, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality.
However, food corporations continue to spend billions on marketing strategies to ensure their products dominate supermarket shelves and advertising spaces, often lobbying against stricter regulations that could limit their reach.
While the solutions to reduce Europeans’ appetite for UPFs are there, in Brussels, there’s rather a hunger for deregulation and laissez-faire. But national governments can still get into the driver’s seat, implementing effective policies that include 1) mandatory front-of-package nutrition labelling, 2) setting limits for the number of harmful ingredients such as added sugars, sodium, and fats, and 3) enforcing stricter regulations on marketing, particularly those targeting children.
In public health, a stronger nanny state does not mean control; it means care and empowerment. It means protecting the public against profit-hungry corporations and the damage and costs they inflict on society. It means implementing policies that actively support people in making healthier choices. Real freedom is the ability to live a healthy, fulfilling life. Maybe it’s time for Europe to embrace the role of the nanny – not as a controlling enforcer, but as a responsible guardian of its citizens.
This article is part of an opinion piece series on the future of Europe and the Europe that could be. It’s produced in a collaboration between Studio Europa Maastricht and The European Correspondent.
Christoph Aluttis is a Head of Unit at the German Federal Centre for Health Education, where he is responsible for Healthy Ageing, Health Equity, and Gender Health. He obtained his PhD at Maastricht University.
