2004 Recommendation to WHO

We congratulate the WHO and our national governments for preparing and subsequently endorsing the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health in May 2004.

In view of the emergence of poor diet and physical inactivity as the second leading cause of non-communicable diseases as reported by the WHO, and given the global obesity epidemic there is an urgent need to address these issues aggressively.  To avert an epidemic of obesity-related disease, purposeful changes in public policy and in the community environment will be required to support individuals in their attempts to eat better diets and maintain physically active lifestyles.

To this end, we call on the World Health Organization to provide action-oriented leadership and:

• increase and formalize its activities in the area of fruit and vegetable promotion and secure continuous, multi-disciplinary human resources for this initiative within the Framework of the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, e.g., assessment and surveillance, intervention and dissemination science, food and health economics, and policy
  
• actively advocate policy and environmental change to promote fruit and vegetables at national levels as part of the implementation of the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical activity and Health, including the establishment of collaborating centers around the world
  
• continue to actively collaborate with the international 5 A Day community, explore how to formalize it in the future, and support the set-up of fruit and vegetable promotion programmes in both developed and less developed countries
  
• formalize collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and involve other international organizations
  
• give higher priority to identifying, disseminating and promoting evidence-informed and promising strategies
  
• stimulate ongoing and meaningful action by the food industry to address the obesity epidemic

Endorsed by the following international 5 A Day leaders most of us gathered in Christchurch, New Zealand on August 10th 2004.

Find the coverletter and list of signatures here.

Find the Press Release here.

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