The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a report calling for "greater monitoring" of "unhealthy food products, especially those high in salt, sugar and fat." The report asserts that "exposure of children to the online marketing of unhealthy food products" remains "commonplace"—despite the organization's 2010 recommendations on limiting such exposure—and "urgently calls for developing and implementing a set of tools for monitoring the exposure of children to digital marketing." The establishment of a tool to monitor exposure could help "strengthen the case to national governments" for stronger measures limiting children's exposure to digital marketing of "unhealthy products," WHO states.
Tag Archives WHO
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS) has released a study examining research into man-made gene drives, a type of gene editing that allows for the spread of gene modifications “throughout a population of organisms intentionally.” Titled Gene Drives on the Horizon: Advancing Science, Navigating Uncertainty, and Aligning Research with Public Values, the report focuses on techniques that use segments of bacterial DNA—such as clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)—paired with a guide protein (CRISPR-associated protein 9, or Cas9) “to make targeted cuts in an organism’s genome.” Organisms modified using CRISPR-Cas9 then pass these changes to their offspring through sexual reproduction, a process that allows scientists to alter whole populations in an effort to eradicate insect-borne infectious diseases, for example. Calling these developments “both encouraging and concerning,” the report seeks to provide “an independent, objective assessment of the state of knowledge and responsible practices for research, risk assessment,…
The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO) has issued a January 25, 2016, report that recommends, among other things, a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), context-specific dietary guidelines, and “interpretive” front-of-pack labeling. Taking “a life-course approach” that focuses on what it describes as an obesogenic environment, the report urges WHO, member governments and non-state actors to implement specific action items designed to (i) promote intake of healthy foods and reduce intake of unhealthy foods and SSBs among children; (ii) promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviors; (iii) provide guidance on preconception and antenatal care to reduce the risk of childhood obesity; (iv) support healthy diet, sleep and physical activity during childhood; (v) promote healthy school environments, health and nutrition literacy; and (vi) provide family-based lifestyle weight management services. In particular, ECHO singles out food and beverage marketing as “a major issue demanding change that will protect…
“Cancer and Diet: The Latest on Processed Meats, Fats and More” is the title of a January 15, 2016, live forum hosted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Webcast faculty, including Harvard Professors Walter Willett and Frank Hu, will discuss the World Health Organization’s classification of processed meat as a “Group 1” carcinogen and the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, among other topics. Willett and Hu were quoted in a January 8 Time article about the role of food industry influence on the new guidelines. Issue 589
The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has announced a monograph evaluating the alleged link between red and processed meat consumption and cancer. According to an October 26, 2015, press release, 22 experts from 10 countries reviewed more than 800 epidemiological studies about this association, with the greatest weight given to “prospective cohort studies done in the general population.” Published in The Lancet Oncology with a detailed assessment to follow in volume 114 of the IARC Monographs, the initial summary concludes that red meat—which includes beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse, and goat—is “probably carcinogenic to humans” “based on limited evidence that the consumption of red meat causes cancer in humans and strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect.” In addition, the meta-analysis purportedly found that meats “transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes” are “carcinogenic to humans” “based on sufficient evidence that the…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an interim report that seeks to identify policy options for mitigating the risk of childhood obesity. Published by WHO’s Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, the strategy document emphasizes “the importance of a life-course approach to simultaneously address the risk factors for childhood obesity from before conception, through pregnancy and during childhood, as well as the obesogenic environment in which children and adolescents grow and develop.” Among other things, the interim report urges policymakers to “tackle the obesogenic environment” by adopting standardized food labeling schemes and addressing food and beverage marketing to children. “There is unequivocal evidence that unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing is related to childhood obesity,” states the commission. “The increasing number of voluntary efforts by industry and communities suggest that the need for change is widely agreed. Any attempt to tackle childhood obesity should, therefore, include a reduction in exposure…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that adults and children reduce their daily intake of added sugars to less than 10 percent of their total daily energy intake. In addition, WHO calls for consumers to limit their consumption of added sugars to less than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) for further health benefits. The new advice follows the release of the U.S. Department of Health and Department of Agriculture’s proposed Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which would set similar limits for glucose, fructose and sucrose added to food and drink by manufacturers, retailers or consumers. “We have solid evidence that keeping intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake reduces the risk of overweight, obesity and tooth decay,” said Francesco Branca, director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, in a March 4, 2015, press release. “Making policy changes to support this will be key…
Citing increased demand for food and beverage products that do not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as ingredients, the March 2015 issue of Consumer Reports magazine features an article intended to help consumers “sift through the facts” about the purported health and environmental effects of GMOs. The column describes recent attempts by individual states to require GMO labeling, as well as voluntary “Non-GMO Project Verified” certification programs. It claims that “the vast majority of corn, soy, canola, and sugar beets grown in the U.S. are now genetically engineered” even though the Food and Drug Administration does not follow the joint safety assessment guidelines established by the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization. “In an interesting twist, some food companies that expressed strong opposition to such mandatory labeling are the same ones turning out new non-GMO products,” opines Consumer Reports. “Those in favor of mandatory labels—including Consumers Union, the…
According to a joint World Health Organization (WHO)/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) news release, the ministers and senior officials of 170 countries convening in Rome have adopted a Framework for Action and a Declaration on Nutrition. Opening the Second International Conference on Nutrition, WHO Secretary General Margaret Chan reportedly criticized the production of what she characterized as less healthy industrialized food and called attention to the consequences of its contribution to obesity and overweight along with the emergence of diabetes, cancers and heart disease. The commitments and recommendations set forth in the framework and declaration are intended to ensure “that all people have access to healthier and more sustainable diets.” They also commit the governments to prevent malnutrition “in all its forms, including hunger, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity.” Among other matters, governments are urged to “educate and inform their citizens about healthier eating practices” and reinforce obesity initiatives “by the creation…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a technical report from a joint Food and Agriculture Organization/WHO Expert Committee tasked with evaluating the safety of certain veterinary drugs and recommending maximum residue limits (MRLs) in food. Among other things, the report addresses toxicological and residue data on various anthelminthic, antiparasitic, antifungal, and antibacterial agents and attendant MRLs in minor species, honey and fish. Issue 543
