From the perspective of countries around the world, obesity prevention and control is a long-term and complex task. How can the national obesity prevention and control policies be implemented efficiently? How can we design the most suitable individualized weight control program for the public? Recently, the "10th China Obesity Prevention and Control Science Conference" co-sponsored by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai Junshi Institute of Life Sciences, and the Institute of Sports Science of the General Administration of Sports of China was held in Beijing. More than 400 professionals from disease prevention and control institutions, sports system related institutions, hospitals, research institutes, universities and enterprises offered suggestions and suggestions from multiple dimensions around the theme of the conference, "Obesity Prevention and Control: From Policy to Action".
Obesity prevention and control should start in children
Globally, both overweight and obesity rates among children and adolescents are growing rapidly. Obesity is an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, and many chronic diseases. Dietary nutrition and physical activity are intermutable, and the environment is a social determinant of individual behavior and health.
"Childhood and adolescence are the key stages for developing good health behaviors, and obesity prevention and control should start from children, and require joint action by the government, society, families and individuals." Shen Hongbing, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, pointed out.
"Obesity rates in the U.S. have risen significantly over the past few decades, and some states now account for more than 30 percent of the population." Professor Kathleen Tucker of the University of Massachusetts in the United States said that obesity prevention and control needs to implement more policies at the national level to systematically address this public health challenge. For example, restricting the availability of unhealthy foods; Intensify enforcement against false health claims; Schools should provide healthier meals and encourage students to participate in physical activity. At the same time, it emphasizes personal responsibility and advocates a reasonable diet, moderate exercise and an active lifestyle.
"Changes in dietary habits and an increase in overly processed foods are the main causes of obesity. Over the past 30 years, the burden of obesity has exceeded the burden of underweight. Dr. Francesco Blanca, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety of the World Health Organization, shared data published by The Lancet: more than 870 million adults worldwide are obese, of which 500 million are men and 370 million are women, and 160 million school-age children are obese.
"Childhood obesity is a growing problem, and it is necessary to pay attention to early nutrition, especially the role of breastfeeding in preventing obesity." Francesco Blanca introduced that the World Health Organization has put forward a series of weight control policy recommendations, such as regulating food and beverage marketing campaigns for children; Use easy-to-understand nutrition labels to help consumers make healthier food choices, and more.
"Overweight and obesity have become an important public health problem. Overweight and obesity are independent risk factors for a variety of chronic diseases. If overweight and obesity can be effectively controlled, the incidence of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and coronary heart disease can be greatly reduced. Considering that there are many reasons for the formation of overweight and obesity, the prevention and control of overweight and obesity requires the joint efforts of multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral, multi-level and even the whole society. Chen Junshi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Shanghai Junshi Institute of Life Sciences, pointed out.
Actively develop a "weight loss" strategy
The Chinese government attaches great importance to the prevention and control of obesity, and the prevention and control of obesity is an important part of documents such as the Outline of the Healthy China 2030 Plan, the Medium- and Long-Term Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases in China (2017-2025), and the Healthy China Action (2019-2030). In 2020, the National Health Commission (NHC) issued the Implementation Plan for the Prevention and Control of Obesity in Children and Adolescents in conjunction with various departments to strengthen the responsibilities of the government, departments, society and individuals, and promote close cooperation among families, schools, society and medical and health institutions to effectively curb the epidemic of overweight and obesity. Guo Yanhong, Director of the Medical Emergency Department of the National Health Commission, introduced the current measures taken by the mainland in the prevention and control of obesity: dynamic monitoring of the epidemic trend of overweight, obesity and chronic diseases in the population to provide support for policy formulation; Through activities such as theme days and publicity weeks for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, we will strengthen the popularization of science and improve the health literacy level of residents; Promote a reasonable diet and moderate exercise, and vigorously advocate a healthy lifestyle.
Guo Yanhong introduced that this year, the National Health Commission and relevant departments will jointly carry out weight management activities, and plan to use about three years to further enhance the public's scientific awareness of obesity prevention and control. The content of the activity mainly includes seven aspects: strengthening scientific popularization, social participation, professional guidance, multi-sectoral activities, whole population and life cycle management, monitoring and evaluation and scientific research, aiming to strengthen the construction of a healthy weight support environment, make a healthy lifestyle more popular, and form a situation in which all people participate and everyone benefits.
The "best deal" strategy is a public health intervention proposed by the World Health Organization to prevent and control chronic diseases at the group level. The strategy emphasizes cost-effective, feasible interventions to achieve maximum health benefits. Shen Hongbing introduced that the relevant strategies of the "most cost-effective measures" have been incorporated into the construction of the National Demonstration Zone for Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases, and integrated into the "Healthy China 2030" action plan, such as promoting healthy lifestyles, preventing and controlling obesity and related chronic diseases.
"National fitness has become a national strategy." Professor Cao Jingwei, Director of the Institute of Sports Science of the General Administration of Sports of China, said, "From the proposal of the National Fitness Plan in 1993, to the establishment of the National Fitness Day in 2009, the issuance of the National Fitness Regulations, and the revision of the Sports Law, the mainland has built a higher level of national fitness public service system. In the next step, we will further popularize public sports facilities and focus on the problem of adolescent obesity to meet the health needs of the people in the new era. ”
In his speech at the meeting, Martin Taylor, Representative of the World Health Organization in China, affirmed the efforts and contributions made by the Chinese government to promote the cause of obesity prevention and control in China. He said that obesity is not only a health problem and a health burden, but also an economic problem and an economic burden, with global losses due to obesity reaching $990 billion per year. At the 2022 World Health Assembly, WHO member states developed new strategies to curb the obesity epidemic. "We hope that Member States will continue to carry out relevant actions until 2030, and I am pleased to see that these actions have made great progress in China." Martin Taylor said.
Precise policy implementation and multi-dimensional force
"Policies and actions supported by scientific evidence can be more effective in tackling obesity. It will be more effective to develop solutions based on individual circumstances and implement policies accurately. Zhao Wenhua, executive chairman of the conference and former chief expert of nutrition at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that to strengthen the weight management of the whole population and the whole life cycle, it is necessary to recognize the differences in genetics, metabolism, lifestyle and other aspects of different individuals, and take these differences into account in the prevention and control strategy, and provide necessary support for individuals, including nutritional guidance, exercise advice and psychological support.
"Obesity prevention and control strategies need more scientific evidence to support their impact on population health, so that this evidence can be better localized and implemented." Shao Ruitai, a professor at Peking Union Medical College's School of Medicine and Public Health, said, "We need to make sure that these policies can be translated into concrete measures. ”
"Lifestyle interventions are very important." Professor Li Guangwei, Chief Endocrinology Expert of China-Japan Friendship Hospital, said, "The 40-year Daqing diabetes study has shown that lifestyle interventions are very effective in preventing diabetes and can last for a long time, and the effect is no less than that of drug interventions. ”
"The mainland attaches great importance to improving the level of public health literacy, with the goal of promoting individuals to adopt a healthy lifestyle, including a reasonable diet and regular exercise." Professor Li Yinghua, deputy director of the China Health Education Center, said that with the advancement of the series of projects, healthy lifestyles will be popularized on a larger scale.
Obesity prevention and control requires the cooperation of governments, medical and health institutions, educational institutions and communities. "Tianjin's experience shows that government-led multisectoral cooperation can effectively reduce mortality among patients with chronic diseases such as myocardial infarction." Professor Jiang Guohong, former deputy director of the Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suggested that top-level design should be done and standardized training should be conducted for policy makers.
Chen Bowen, president of the China Community Health Association, said that the community should play a greater role in the prevention and control of obesity and provide targeted health management and intervention. There is a need to provide clear guidance and tools to primary care settings to manage obesity more effectively.
Text: Health News reporter Wang Xiaoyu
Editor: Yang Zhenyu
Proofreading: Li Shiyao Review: Qin Mingrui Xu Bingnan
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