UN Meeting Tackles Global Malnutrition and Obesity Challenges
A United Nations symposium in Rome sought solutions to the global issue of malnutrition, which affects one in three people and imposes a significant economic burden.
United Nations agencies FAO and WHO convened a high-level symposium in Rome on December 1-2, 2016, focusing on sustainable food systems for healthier diets and improved nutrition. The meeting addressed the escalating impact of malnutrition—encompassing undernutrition, overweight, and obesity—on public health and economic development, with estimated annual costs of $3.5 trillion.
FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva stated that one in three people globally suffers from some form of malnutrition, emphasizing that "no country is immune" to its overwhelming human, social, environmental, and economic costs. The symposium aimed to identify strategies for reshaping food production, processing, marketing, and retail systems to effectively combat malnutrition.
FAO pledged support to countries adopting a food systems approach across the entire food chain. The Director-General stressed that nutrition is a public and state responsibility, and consumers must be empowered to choose healthy foods and diets through nutrition-sensitive social protection, education, and clear labeling.
In April 2016, the UN declared an "International Decade on Nutrition" to foster collaboration among diverse actors to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.