European Partnership for Fruits, Vegetables and Better Health (EPBH)

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION FOR HEALTH AND NUTRITION

MONDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER 2005

Durban, South Africa

17. - 19. april 2005
1st Pan American Congress Promotion the Consumption of Vegetables and Fruits, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.  Read more about the event here.

EGEA 2005

From Scientific Evidence to Health Prevention Actions is the title of the third International Conference on Health benefits of Mediterranean Style Diet. The conference will be held ín Rome, Italy on May 18th – 21st  2005.

The Conference will highlight the latest scientific advances on how dietary changes can help prevent obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancers. Focusing on the twin concepts of energy density and nutrient density of foods, conference participants will outline the links between eating and snacking habits, weight management, physical activity, metabolic syndrome, and chronic disease risk.

EGEA 3 will provide a multidisciplinary approach to the prevention of chronic disease, bringing together researchers, clinicians, nutrition educators, policy makers and food industry representatives. Eminent international scientists will share their latest findings and will discuss effective dietary prevention strategies with health professionals. This multi-level approach aims at contributing to the development of a concerted agenda for the promotion of better health through improved nutrition and lifestyle.

Find the program, call for abstracts and registration here.

The international symposium in New Zealand

In August 2004 the 4th International 5+ A Day symposium was held in Christchurch, New Zealand. World experts and international 5 A Day programme implementers was invited for a two-day symposium to examine the science behind the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption for health and to share best practice programmes from different regions around the world.

During this event a recommendation to WHO was drafted and adopted.

Find the recommendation and much more here

FRUITAVAIL

This is the acronym for a new EU project proposal that was submitted to the EU Commission by 15 European countries on April 16'th 2004. The title of the proposal is Increasing Availability of Fruit and Vegetables in Schools and Workplaces. Please find the abstract and more information here. The 15 countries are Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Swizerland, Spain, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Turkey and UK.

WHO World Health Assembly adopts global strategy on diet, physical activity and health

The World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed on May 22'nd the new Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. The strategy addresses two of the major risk factors (diet and physical activity) which are responsible for the heavy and growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which now account for some 60% of global deaths and almost half (47%) of the global burden of disease. NCDs include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancers and obesity-related conditions.

"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 Dr LEE Jong-wook, Director-General, WHO. "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."

You find the WHO Pressrelease here.

New important handbook

A new Handbook from The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under WHO reviews the available literature on fruit and vegetable consumption and cancer risk, estimating that approximately one in ten cancers in western populations is due to an insufficient intake of fruit and vegetables.

This finding should encourage all organizations as well as governments to continue efforts to increase or maintain fruit and vegetable intake as an important objective of programs to improve nutrition and to reduce the burden of cancer and other chronic diseases.  See the table of content and order the handbook here.

Important WHO initiative

WHO has decided to focus on fruits and vegetables as part of a global strategy on diet, physical activity and health.  Find a meeting report, a fact sheet and some presentations on www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/fruit/en/

Please contact Laurent Damiens or Morten Strunge Meyer if you are interested in joining the network or need a password to access the Members section.

Best regards

Laurent Damiens, Interfel, France

Morten Strunge Meyer, Danish Cancer Society, Denmark

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