Chile Takes Aim at Obesity

Participants in Chile's first Summit on Nutrition and Health gathered in Valparaíso in March to discuss the growth of nutrition-related diseases in Chile and strategies for their prevention and control.

In Chile, an estimated 200 people die every day from causes associated with poor diet and lack of physical activity.More than half of Chileans are overweight, and 10 percent are obese. A national survey in 2003 found that 34 percent of Chileans over 17 have hypertension, 35 percent have high cholesterol, 16 percent are glucose intolerant, and 55 percent are at high or very high risk of a heart attack.

To address these problems, Chile last year launched a Global Strategy against Obesity, which aims to reduce obesity from 10 percent to 7 percent by 2010. Central elements of the strategy include communication campaigns; school-based educational and food programs; regulation of marketing, advertising, and labeling of food; training of health teams; extension services; and research.

In a concluding document, presented to President Michelle Bachelet, summit participants called for stepped-up action in several areas, including:

• Laws and regulations that promote healthy consumption and restrict food advertising directed at children.
• Agricultural policies that lower prices on and increase access to healthy foods.
• Regulatory norms defining maximum recommended requirements for nutrients that contribute to obesity, and means for disclosing this information to the public.
• School curricula that promote healthy eating and guarantee sufficient time for physical education.

More than 1,000 Chilean and international experts participated in the summit. It was sponsored by Chile's Ministry of Health, the Chilean Senate, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Latin American Society of Nutrition, and the International Union of Nutritional Sciences.