Obesity action urged
January 10, 2014
The International Association for
the Study of Obesity (IASO) has
published a 10 point plan urging
governments to act on obesity.
The plan has been released
ahead of the United Nations Non
Communicable Diseases summit
this year, and the World Health
Organization has said obesity has
reached “epidemic proportions”
globally, with at least 2.8 million
people dying each year as a result
of being overweight or obese.
“Tobacco, alcohol, poor diets and
sedentary behaviour lie behind
much of the disease burden,” said
the briefing, urging governments
to take a systems wide approach
to combatting obesity and to work
with civil society.
The plan also urges further steps
to protect consumers, particularly
children, from inducements to eat
unhealthy products.
The plan had a strong emphasis
on government leadership and
action.
IASO policy director Dr Tim
Lobstein said the sooner
governments started to act, the
cheaper and more effective their
actions would be.
“In isolation governments are
reluctant to undertake market
interventions as they don’t want
to be seen to restrict people’s
freedoms.
“However there is a good case
for clear traffic light labelling on
products, for banning junk food
marketing to children, and for
adjusting the existing subsidies and
taxes to increase the consumption
of healthier foods,” he added
decrying general diet ignorance.
To read the briefing CLICK HERE.
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