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World Action On Obesity Agreed Upon

Posted: Saturday, May 29, 2004

The world's health ministers are writing a guidebook for countries on how to design policies to make people eat better and exercise more.

They've tentatively agreed on an unprecedented plan to fight obesity and diseases caused by bad diet and inactivity, like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, malnutrition and
tooth decay.

The plan to deal with the toll of poor diet and exercise habits around the globe has been hailed as something of a triumph of public health over the sugar industry.

The governing body of the World Health Organization is expected to formally endorse the plan over the weekend.

The health ministers said it was a blueprint for countries trying to develop policies that make it easier for people to eat more healthily and exercise more.

The plan is a comprehensive menu of options for heading off a worldwide explosion in obesity and other diseases linked to diet and physical activity, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, malnutrition and tooth decay.

But its recommendation that sugar intake be limited became the focus of controversy early on.

In the days leading up to the nonbinding agreement, health advocates feared objections by sugar-producing developing countries were going to derail the plan.

The strategy document sets out recommendations such as the reduction of sugar, fat and salt in processed food, the control of food marketing to children and of health claims on packaging, as well as more comprehensive nutrition labeling and health education.

There are now more fat people in the world than hungry people, and infectious diseases - though still a significant scourge in some parts - are no longer responsible for most of the world's deaths.

One obesity expert calls the agreement a victory for public health.