The Executive Board of the WHO has accepted the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health as an agenda item for the 2004 World Health Assembly (WHA) in May.
The strategy was requested by Member States at WHA 2002 to address two of the major risk factors responsible for the heavy and growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancers and obesity. NCDs now account for some 60% of global deaths and almost half (47%) of the global burden of disease.
January 2004: 32-member WHO Executive Board, comprised of Member State delegations, considers the draft strategy and accompanying resolution, and approves forwarding the documents to 57th WHA for final consideration.
29 Feb 2004: Deadline for Member State suggested revisions to document. Mid-March 2004: The final draft strategy will be made publicly available to WHA members. May 2004: 57th WHA, comprised of WHO’s full membership of 192 countries, will consider adopting the Strategy.
However, there has been strong lobbying against the strategy by the food industry and particularly the sugar industry in the US. A leaked confidential letter (PDF file) to Lee Jong-Wook, the WHO Director-General, from the US department of health and human services disputes some of the scientific evidence on which the proposals are based.
The letter complains of "an unsubstantiated focus on ’good’ and ’bad’ foods, and a conclusion that specific foods are linked to non-communicable diseases and obesity (eg energy-dense foods, high/added sugar foods and drinks, meats, certain types of fats and oils and higher fat dairy products). The US government favours dietary guidance that focuses on the total diet, promotes the view that all foods can be a part of a healthy and balanced diet, and supports personal responsibility to choose a diet conducive to individual energy balance, weight control and health."
WHO website: The Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.
