Dear Colleagues The IOTF is moving into a whole new realm now the importance of the WHO report on the global epidemic of obesity is starting to make an impact. Our efforts to persuade governments and health professionals with the help of IASO members around the world is beginning to pay off with clear evidence that some health ministers are listening and are willing to act. But many more have still to be persuaded of the urgent need to tackle this issue - no longer some distant fear for the future but a real and ever-present problem which is likely to explode in the next millenium. The clear link with diabetes, heart disease and other weight-related conditions presents a serious threat to the health of many millions - especially in Asia where the damage to health is pronounced at far lower BMI levels than in the West. This makes overweight and obesity an insidious but very real long-term threat to the well-being of human beings all over the planet. From Samoa to the Steppes, from Sao Paulo to Sydney. Every country faces a potential public health disaster if it fails to take decisive measures not only to introduce better health management but far more effective prevention measures to halt the slide we have seen accelerating over the past 25 years. Already we have made inroads in awareness after the IOTF conducted a workshop for ministers drawn from the 54 countries of the Commonwealth, who met in Barbados. They were astonished to realise that alongside the traditional diseases of deficiency, the problem of obesity was going unrecognized yet is the underlying cause of many of their health problems which are beginning to take off in developing countries. As a result the IOTF is making plans with the Commonwealth Secretariat to start a series of action workshops with governments initially in the Caribbean and Pacific where the problems are most pronounced. We are now looking to Europe to take the lead and will provide support to EASO in seeking a renewed commitment from their members to press their governments to develop coherent new policies and strategies to address this challenge. At the European Congress on Obesity in June we shall see the launch the Milan Initiative - the first phase in a programme which will involve each IASO region in turn. It is vital that national associations show determination to become a driving force for change. In many ways we are seeking a revolution - a complete transformation in the way we think about health in the 21st century. I hope all of you will join us in making it happen. Prof Philip
James
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