Statement
to the 57th meeting of the World Health Assembly on Item 12.6 - The
Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health
Mr Chairman,
honourable members of the World Health Assembly, Director-General, Regional
Directors, ladies and gentlemen.
The
following is a joint statement delivered by the International
Collectively
these associations represent the widest range of scientific and medical knowledge
on non-communicable disease, public health and nutritional expertise combined
with concerned lay members from all parts of the world. Our members have
already expressed support for a strong global strategy on diet,
physical activity and health. A strong strategy is essential in order to
address the mounting epidemics of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. A strong
strategy is essential to ensure a more effective global culture of care and
responsibility for the nutritional health of all children.
A growing
proportion of the population is affected by overweight and obesity, which are powerful
determinants of type 2 diabetes and other chronic non-communicable diseases. The
International
One
in three children born today in the
The
forces driving this rapid transformation are not hidden. The US Department of
Agriculture has concluded: “A big jump in average
calorie intake between 1985 and 2000 without a corresponding increase in the
level of physical activity (calorie expenditure) is the prime factor behind
This is an issue that no country
can afford to ignore. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s Agricultural
Outlook forecasts a similar 300 kcalorie jump in daily per capita intake across
developing and transition countries by 2030.
“
The
global strategy is needed to encourage and enable Member States to begin to address
the critical diet and physical activity challenges for a new generation and to provide
the signposts on the road to better diet, physical activity and health for all.
We urge Member States not to hesitate in taking all the necessary steps to
achieve his essential goal.
Statement to the 57th meeting of the World
Health Assembly of the World Health Organization,
Item 12.6.Global strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health
Mr Chairman, honourable members of the World Health Assembly, Director-General, Regional Directors, ladies and gentlemen.
I
represent the International Union of Nutritional Sciences. IUNS which is the
official scientific body representing the Academies of Medicine and Royal
Societies of the world through their official relationship with ICSU and
UNESCO. We have Scientific groups throughout the world working in Agriculture,
Medicine, Public Health, and the Social
and Behavioural Sciences. This statement is endorsed by the ???
Most countries do not yet understand that the biggest
causes of death and disability now affecting babies, children, young adults and
the elderly are nutritional in origin. This was shown in the recent World
Health Reports to which many of our members have contributed. Malnutrition with deficiency diseases still
affect billions of children and adults but now in the economically deprived
world Ministries of Health are facing a huge double burden of disease. Not only
do we see millions of low birth weight babies being born and childhood
malnutrition killing millions every year but we now find scarce resources being
diverted to meet the treatment needs of adults with diabetes, obesity,
hypertension, heart disease, strokes and cancer. This epidemic affects the poor
more than the rich and countries with malnourished mothers and babies are
producing a generation which is even more sensitive to the development of
obesity and all its associated illnesses. Th problem is therefore acute in the
most economically deprived countries of the world
New evidence shows that no country - even in
The WHO/FAO expert report number
916 on ‘Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases’
should become the central plank of thinking for Ministries of Health . Since it
was produced much new scientific evidence affirms its validity. IUNS therefore supports the proposed global
strategy which ideally should be strengthened in keeping with an evidence based
approach to policy making . We look forward to its adoption at this meeting of
the World Health Assembly.
Ministers should note that vested interests have
led to the current confusion relating to
the economic implications of the global strategy. WHO needs a full
analysis but already it is clear that
the global strategy is essential for
poor countries and that agricultural economics will improve not deteriorate as
a result of implementing this strategy.
Finally we emphasise the importance of science and
evidence in determining public policies. The private sector have an invaluable
role to play in the implementation phase of this strategy but all vested
interests should not be allowed to distort the development of appropriate
policies. This has clearly been understood
in issues of food safety and food
toxicology and these principles should now be applied to the nutritional issues
of food. Without this clear separation of public and private interests in the
making of this global strategy the health of the world is likely to deteriorate
instead of improving.
Thank you Mr. Chairman
[1] IOTF Childhood Obesity Working Group: Obesity in
children and young people: A crisis in public health.