In response to a recent Lancet article which records a tenfold increase in childhood obesity and projects that more children will be obese than underweight by 2022, the World Stroke Organization is adding its voice to those of partners in the field of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to urge action by governments and health service providers, insurers and communities to prioritise and invest in obesity prevention.
WSO has a clear stake in tackling obesity, around one out of every five strokes are linked to obesity. Addressing this health issue has the potential to save 1.3 million lives lost to obesity related stroke and many more from other NCDs such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
While individual actions to address life-style risks can play a critical role in reducing risks of obesity, stroke and other non-communicable diseases there is clearly much more that can be done by governments to make it easier to make healthy lifestyle choices.
The impact of obesity, like stroke, is experienced inequitably in communities with lower levels of income and education and where barriers making healthy choices are challenging for individuals to surmount. Governments efforts targeted at improving access to preventive healthcare, building healthier communities and implementing population wide policies – such as sugar-taxation and food safety policy - would help address economic and environmental contributors to obesity and make a significant impact across a broad range of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
NCD related costs of obesity are tipped to reach $1.2 billion by 2025 and with so many other common issues and interests shared by NGOs and governments committed to reducing the impact of NCDs, there has never been a better time to work together to deliver a world where being healthy is the easy thing to do.
World Stroke Day on 29th October 2017 is focused on prevention. For more about the risk factors for stroke go to www.worldstrokecampaign.org
For more information on global efforts to address the obesity challenge visit the Global Obesity Federation website.
