Global health officials gathered at the 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion in Shanghai to address the complex challenge of explore ways of ending childhood obesity.

Nawal Ai-Hamad, Kuwait's assistant undersecretary and deputy director general of the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition said that childhood obesity is a major health concern in the country. Childhood obesity is the main cause of adult obesity and many non-communicable diseases among Kuwaitis, he added.

Ai-Hamad said the global obesity problem will have a negative impact on personal health and labor supply in the human resources market and bring a heavy burden to society and families.

Many member countries of the World Health Organization expressed their concerns and shared their action plans to tackle obesity on the day.

Saia Piukala, minister of health of Tonga, said that over 80 percent of the population in Tonga is overweight and suffers from obesity problems.

Piukala said obesity is a main cause of diseases such as kidney failure and heart diseases, which have put a heavy burden on Tonga’s healthcare system.

Tonga has put forward measures such as encouraging citizens to intake healthy foods and to require pre-school children to take more physical exercises to reduce the risk of obesity.

Gina Radford, deputy chief medical officer of the United Kingdom, said the UK plans to encourage beverage producers to change food ingredients so that children will consume less sugar.
The UK government will also stop junk food businesses posting advertisements, said Radford.

Eduardo Jaramillo, director general of health promotion of Ministry of Health in Mexico, said that about one-third of children have obesity problems and about 70 percent of adults are overweight in the country.

Mexico is one of the few countries that levies taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and high-energy drinks, but still has many non-nutritious food products, according to Jaramillo.

Sugar-sweetened beverages are not allowed to be sold at schools. Moreover, food producers are required to highlight sugar information on the nutrition facts table so to educate consumers about the amount of sugar they intake.

Hussain Ai Rand, assistant undersecretary for Health Centers and Clinics, Ministry of Health and Prevention of United Arab Emirates, said the country has stopped sales of unhealthy food in schools to reduce chance of childhood obesity. The country has changed the name of Ministry of Health to Ministry of Health and Prevention to highlight the key task of government in upcoming years of preventing illness and disease.