Obesity

Obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century. Both societies and governments need to act to curb the epidemic. National policies should encourage and provide opportunities for greater physical activity, and improve the affordability, availability and accessibility of healthy foods. They should also encourage the involvement of different government sectors, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders.

Obesity prevalence has tripled in many countries of the WHO European Region since the 1980s, and the numbers of those affected continue to rise at an alarming rate, particularly among children. In addition to causing various physical disabilities and psychological problems, excess weight drastically increases a person's risk of developing a number of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. The risk of developing more than one of these diseases (co-morbidity) also increases with increasing body weight. Obesity is already responsible for 2–8% of health costs and 10–13% of deaths in different parts of the Region.

A primary aim of WHO/Europe is to monitor and address the causes of preventable illness, as well as the underlying factors contributing to their increase – such as the behavioural and socioeconomic factors leading to obesity. In the fields of physical activity and diet, the Regional Office's support to countries is guided by the Global status report on noncommunicable diseases 2014, the WHO European Food and Nutrition Action Plan 2015–2020, and Rome Declaration on Nutrition.

To identify the underlying social causes of obesity and other noncommunicable diseases and their common risk factors, WHO/Europe commissioned a review of the social determinants of health throughout all 53 Member States, which took place from 2010 to 2012. This review provided the Action Plan for implementation of the European Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2012−2016, which identifies priority action areas and interventions for Member States to focus on until 2016.