Government-Led Efforts Targeting Eating Habits of Children Needed to Curb Worldwide Obesity Epidemic

Tax on Sugary Drinks, Limits on Marketing to Children Among Cost-effective Strategies

For immediate release: Thursday, August 25, 2011, 6:30 PM ET

Boston, MA – The global obesity epidemic has been escalating for three to four decades, yet long-term prevention efforts have barely begun and are inadequate, according to a new paper from international public health experts published in the August 25, 2011 edition of the journal The Lancet. The authors call on governments around the world to launch a coordinated effort to monitor, prevent, and control obesity, and the long-term health, social and economic costs associated with it.