European governments have identified obesity as one of today's most serious public health challenges. The need to tackle the epidemic has been recognised by the 48 members of the World Health Organization's European region.
At a WHO ministerial conference in Istanbul last week they all signed a special charter acknowledging the scale of the problem and presenting a strategy to tackle it.
The prevalence of obesity in Europe has tripled in the past two decades. Half of all adults and one in five children in the WHO's European region are overweight. Of these a third are obese.
Obesity is a major contributor to non-communicable diseases, affects people's quality of life, shortens life expectancy, and accounts for 6% of countries' healthcare costs. It is estimated that excess body weight is responsible for more than a million deaths a year in the region and that by 2010 one in 10 of its children will be obese.
Marc Danzon, the WHO's regional director for Europe, said: “This charter commits member states to put obesity high on their political agendas and calls on all partners and stakeholders to do the same. It is a guide, an opportunity, and gives us the tools to take effective action.”
The five page charter sets a target of making visible progress towards reducing the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents over the next four to five years and reversing the trend by 2015 at the latest. It emphasises that achieving this target will require input from governments, international organisations, food and drink manufacturers, professional networks, the media, and individuals themselves.
Confirmation that the challenge requires a broad spectrum response could be seen in the presence at the conference of not just health ministers and officials but also representatives from other government departments, ranging from agriculture, finance, and trade to sport and education.
Measures to tackle the problem include public awareness campaigns, regulatory controls on certain types of advertising, and more thoughtful urban and transport policies that encourage people to walk and cycle.
The conference emphasised the need for a close partnership with industry. It took place just a week after the European Commission had publicly praised major food and drink manufacturers such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and Kraft Foods for introducing measures to counteract obesity (BMJ 2006;333:1036, 18 Nov).
Germany, which takes over the six month rotating presidency of the European Union in January, has placed the issue firmly on its agenda. Marion Caspers-Merk, the country's secretary of state for health, said after the meeting: “The idea is [to move] from the charter, which has common targets where everybody can agree, to more concrete actions and influencing the political process in the European Union.”
A specific European action plan covering nutrition and physical activity will now translate the charter's principles into practice and establish monitoring mechanisms.
(See editorial, doi: 10.1136/bmj.39038.449769.BE)