A major new campaign to seek more effective measures to deal with the global obesity epidemic will be launched at the 9^th European Congress on Obesity.

The Milan Initiative will call on European member associations of EASO to take a new lead in pressing for more comprehensive national strategies on prevention and management.

The proposal was agreed by Prof Michele Carruba, ECO President, Prof Philip James, IOTF Chairman and Prof Jaap Seidell, president of EASO, as part of a world-wide programme that will involve all IASO countries. The first stage of the launch will be at a roundtable session to mark the congress opening. 

National associations will be asked to unite in a call for better strategies for action throughout Europe. Other health organizations and agencies are also being invited to take part. Other IASO regional associations will be invited to take up similar initiatives in a step towards declaring an International Charter on Action on Obesity at the 9^th International Congress on Obesity in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2002.

Prof Seidell said:"Overweight and obesity is now a serious problem in most European countries. It is important that EASO members make a strong commitment to help achieve change both in the wider recognition of the problem and in obtaining agreement to new policies to deal with it."

Prof James said the WHO report on obesity which the IOTF helped to produce had already highlighted the widespread epidemic. "It is time to act. As scientists we cannot just sit back and watch the problem unfold, we must persuade governments that they should adopt new strategies to deal with the problem and importantly introduce better prevention measures to halt to rapid increase in the numbers becoming seriously overweight and obese."

Prof Carruba (pictured left) added that he was delighted the European congress in Milan would be the starting point for the initiative, which will build on a foundation of work already laid in some countries where associations have opened dialogues with their governments and have been pressing for action. 

Some IASO regions are already engaging governments to persuade them to more effective action. In Latin America, the IOTF has made an input through its taskforce member, Prof Alfredo Halpern, in persuading Brazil to take its first steps in prevention. The IOTF backed NAASO and other obesity campaigners in seeking assurances from the US health secretary Donna Shalala that obesity should be given prominence in their Healthy People 2010 strategy, while ASSO is working closely with the Australian government to combat the rapidly expanding weight problem there (see page 13).