The UN plan to make the world healthy again
The United Nations is working on a make-the-world-healthy agenda for 2030.
How so: World leaders are meeting September 25 on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in New York to discuss preventing and controlling noncommunicable diseases and promoting mental health and well-being.
Participating leaders — names are still to be confirmed — are expected to adopt a political declaration that, while not legally binding, pressures governments to align behind the same goals.
A first draft of the proposed goals demands that leaders commit to:
— Reducing the number of tobacco users from the current 1.3 billion to 150 million by 2030
— Adding 150 million people to the 260 million currently receiving treatment for their high blood pressure
— Ensuring 150 million more people have access to mental health care
The draft also addresses obesity, which it says 'is largely driven by unhealthy food environments and lack of physical activity.' It notes that 'there has been no progress to stem the rate of overweight in children under 5 years of age in nearly 20 years; the number of children currently affected is 35 million.'
Those lines echo similar concerns about growing obesity rates among American children from the Make America Healthy Again movement led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy.
How to solve obesity: The solutions proposed in the draft resolution might not be to many governments' liking, as they entail increasing taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks.
The draft also calls for implementing graphic health warnings on all tobacco packages across the world and restricting e-cigarettes and other similar products.
To fight obesity, the draft calls for:
— Eliminating trans-fatty acids, and reducing levels of saturated fat, sugar and sodium in processed food and beverages
— Providing nutrition labeling on food and drinks
— Ensuring public food procurement emphasizes healthy diets
— Protecting children 'from the harmful impact of food marketing'
— Promoting optimal breastfeeding practices
What's next: Diplomats will continue negotiating the final resolution for the world leaders to agree to, which could result in scaling back the ambitions.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s ringing endorsement of whole milk in his Make America Healthy Again report last week challenged a lot of conventional wisdom about the long-maligned and fatty drink.
Kennedy's report said whole milk does the body good because it provides 'calcium, vitamin D and bioactive fatty acids, which support bone health, help regulate inflammation and may reduce the risk of type two diabetes.'
Is that so? It's debatable.
Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has made the case that whole milk's bad image is outdated, stemming from decades-old thinking about its high saturated fat content and links to high cholesterol and heart disease. He contends that the creamy beverage satiates drinkers, helping them resist sugary and high-carb snacks that lead to weight gain.
He points to studies that show people who drink whole milk are less likely to put on weight.
But even within Willett's own department, opinions differ. Dr. Frank Hu, a nutrition and epidemiology professor, says it's best to consume full-fat dairy products in moderation, given their link to heart disease.
Why it matters: Lawmakers who represent dairy farmers are keen to reverse a law then-President Barack Obama signed in 2010 eliminating whole milk from the National School Lunch Program and to see whole milk endorsed in an upcoming rewrite of national dietary guidelines.
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