States endorse UN health agency strategies to fight obesity and improve reproductive health

Aiming to fight lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases, countries meeting in Geneva have adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.

This action by the annual World Health Assembly gathering on Saturday is considered especially urgent since these illnesses – which include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers and obesity-related conditions – now account for some 60 per cent of global deaths and almost half of the global burden of disease.

"This is a landmark achievement in global public health policy and provides our Member States with a powerful instrument, which will enable them to develop effective and integrated national strategies to reduce the human and socioeconomic costs of non-communicable diseases," said WHO Director-General Dr. Lee Jong-wook.

He also pointed out that the burden of death, illness and disability caused by noncommunicable diseases “is now greatest in developing countries, where those affected are on average younger than in the developed world."

The strategy emphasizes the need to limit the consumption of saturated fats and trans fatty acids, salt and sugars, and to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables and levels of physical activity. It also addresses the role of prevention in health services; food and agriculture policies; fiscal policies; surveillance systems; regulatory policies; consumer education and communication including marketing, health claims and nutrition labelling; and school policies as they affect food and physical activity choices.

The World Health Assembly also endorsed a new strategy on reproductive health in a bid to combat the spread of sexually transmitted disease and make pregnancy and childbirth safer.

That plan targets five priority areas: improving antenatal, delivery, postpartum and newborn care; providing high-quality family planning services, including those related to infertility; eliminating unsafe abortion; combating sexually transmitted infections; and promoting sexual health.

"Unsafe sex is one of the biggest risks to our health today, largely as a result of acquiring sexually-transmitted infections, such as HIV/AIDS," said Joy Phumaphi, WHO's Assistant Director-General of Family and Community Health. "It is fundamental to the social and economic development of communities, economies and nations."

Each year, some 8 million of the estimated 210 million women who become pregnant suffer life-threatening complications related to pregnancy, many experiencing long-term effects. In 2000, an estimated 529,000 women died during pregnancy and childbirth from largely preventable causes.