The International Obesity TaskForce has urged that the food industry act to help bring about a major transformation in diet and activity needed to halt the rise in obesity and type two diabetes.
Welcoming the publication of a new Atlas of Diabetes - for the first time incorporating an IOTF assessment of global levels of obesity - IOTF chairman Prof Philip James said the case for the food industry to take action to prevent the linked epidemics of overweight and diabetes was now irrefutable.
The Atlas, published by the International Diabetes Federation and launched at the International Diabetes Congress in Paris, provides what is described as a graphic demonstration of the significant global challenge which threatens to devastate the health of many people in the developing world at a time when their countries were set to see major economic advances, he added.
"The case for action on diet and activity is irrefutable and the recommendations made in the World Health Organization's recent report on nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases should be incorporated into a robust global strategy aimed at turning back the tide of non-communicable diseases. Governments throughout the world should be making this a top priority," he said.He said that the food and drinks industries were beginning to recognise the signficance of the global challenge but had yet to face up to their responsibility to improve nutritional health.
"They must do a lot more than just form advisory councils to do a PR job on their image. They must sit down seriously to work out how they can help meet the urgent need to reduce the high fat, sugar and salt content in a lot of the every day processed foods we consume so we can transform the dietary health of the world and in doing so help stem the increasing burden of weight-related disease such as type 2 diabetes."
The WHO 916 report on diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases was published in April after opposition from some elements within the food industry. It recommends that no more than 30 per cent of calories should come from fat, no more than 10 per cent from sugar and salt should be reduced to achieve a maximum intake for adults of 5 gms per day.
The IOTF estimates that more than 1.1 billion people are overweight or obese, but overall almost 1.7 billion are at risk of a range of weight-related illnesses which include type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some common cancers. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that there are 190 million people with diabetes and this is forecast to increase to 330 million by 2025.