Embargo noon GMT Wednesday October 30 2002-10-29

JOINT PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE INTERNATIONAL DIABETES FEDERATION, WORLD HEART FEDERATION, WORLD HYPERTENSION LEAGUE, AND THE INTERNATIONAL OBESITY TASKFORCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF OBESITY

Strict Embargo Noon GMT Wednesday October 30 2002

WHO CALL FOR GOVERNMENT ACTION ON TOP 10 DISEASES BACKED BY MEDICAL LEADERS

Governments should give top priority to developing effective measures to reduce and prevent some of the largest avoidable risks to health worldwide, a group of leading international medical experts urge today.

Their message was delivered as the World Health Report was unveiled in London revealing the “top 10” biggest causes of the global burden of disease. The report shows that just a few key risks account for a major share of the global burden of disease. Reducing these risks would result in significant health gains, which could be achieved using existing cost-effective interventions and strategies for risk reduction involving entire populations.

It predicted that by the year 2020 there will be nine million deaths caused by tobacco, compared to almost five million a year now and five million deaths attributable to overweight and obesity, compared to three million annually now.

Leading figures from the field of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, nutrition and obesity spoke out in support of WHO’s radical approach to shift the main focus from the minority of high risk individuals to include preventive measures that can be applied to the whole population.

Among proposals for “bold policies” to tackle chronic non-communicable diseases, WHO itself recommends that governments consider increasing taxes on tobacco and
legislating to reduce salt and other unhealthy components in foods. It also suggests that there should be stricter environmental controls and ambitious energy policies, stronger health promotion and health safety campaigns.

Prof Sir George Alberti, president of the International Diabetes Federation, said that it was time to emphasize the need for a “whole-population” approach to preventing type 2 diabetes, a major epidemic threatening a devastating impact in the developing world. “Of course we have to deal with the existing significant problem of people with diabetes but major efforts must now be made by governments to tackle prevention throughout the world,” he added.

Professor Philip Poole-Wilson, incoming president of the World Heart Federation, commented: “What this report shows is that the risk factors for heart disease and stroke are similar in rich and poor countries. The World Heart Federation is focusing on the implementation of programmes to reduce these risk factors. Although blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, overweight and smoking are recognized risk factors, the root causes may lie in social change in relation to diet, exercise and the consequences of urbanisation. Governments must be urged to instigate policies which will diminish those risks factors.”

Professor Peter Sleight, immediate past president of the World Hypertension League, added: “WHL is absolutely behind this initiative and believes that this is much more of a political than a medical matter and that governments need to take on board how they can persuade the food industry to cooperate in adopting a more sensible approach on salt, calorie content and portion size of food, and work with town planning and the leisure industry to encourage healthy activities in a practical way.”

Prof Philip James, chairman of the London-based International Obesity TaskForce, who undertook the analysis of the impact of obesity for WHO’s assessment of the global burden of disease, said: “This new analysis shows the critical importance of nutritional quality of foods for health throughout the world. It is clear that both undernutrition and the chronic diseases that are reaching epidemic proportions stem from major societal changes and deficiencies. It is these deficiencies that need to be addressed if we are going to make a real impact on the well-being of both children and adults in the poorest sections of affluent societies as well as developing countries.”

“Governments are challenged to respond to this immediately. Evidence shows that you can make rapid improvements to population health with co-ordinated action to reduce the unhealthy elements in the modern diet that are the underlying causes of these diseases.”

Full details of the World Health Report are available from WHO (www.who.int) UK contact Juliette Heller - mobile 07946616150.

For further information contact:

Neville Rigby
Director of Policy and Public Affairs
IASO International Obesity TaskForce
mobile +44 7939250347
web: www.iotf.org/media

The International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) represents research scientists, medical and health professionals worldwide. http://www.iaso.org

Prof Philip Poole-Wilson (World Heart Federation) and Prof Philip James (International Obesity TaskForce) will be available for interview after the press conference at 1030 am today (Wednesday Oct 30) launching the World Health Report at the Royal College of Physicians 11 St Andrews Place, Regents Park NW1.

Key facts:

· The worldwide epidemic of overweight and obesity, one of the key risk factors in type II diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure and stroke, as well as various types of cancer, affects more than one billion adults worldwide.

· An estimated 177 million people – two thirds of them in the developing world - are affected by diabetes, mainly weight-related type 2 diabetes.

· Heart attacks and strokes kill about 12 million people every year (7.2 million due to ischaemic heart disease and 5.5 million to cerebrovascular disease). In addition, 3.9 million people die annually from hypertensive and other heart conditions.

Background notes:

Chronic non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancers and respiratory diseases, account for 59% of the 56.5 million deaths each year and almost half (45.9 per cent) of the global burden of disease.

Five of the top 10 selected global disease burden risk factors identified by World Health Report 2002: reducing risks, promoting healthy life – obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, alcohol and tobacco – are the major causes of these diseases. WHO says changes in dietary habits, physical activity and tobacco control can produce rapid changes in population risk factors.

A new joint WHO/FAO expert report will be published next year recommending population-wide nutrient and physical activity goals. WHO has begun to engage constructively with all stakeholders in developing its Global Strategy. It believes that governments, health professionals, the food and advertising industries, and wider civil society should all contribute to making the easy choices the healthy choices, both for diet and physical activity.

WHO is preparing its Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, to develop a population-wide, prevention-based approach to health which will be presented to governments at the World Health Assembly in 2004.