Press Releases from the EVU

For Mr. LEE Jong-Wook, Director General of the World Health Organisation and Mr. David Porter - Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health, Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health -

Submission by the European Vegetarian Union and the International Vegetarian Union to the 57th meeting of the World Health Assembly on 17th to 19th May 2004

** Combating obesity with high-fibre plant foods **

We welcome the WHO initiative to provide a lead in tackling obesity and
associated health problems. In the US it is already the second leading
cause of preventable death (American Obesity Association,
www.obesity.org). The surge in obesity and diabetes since 1980 is
driven by reduced physical activity and increased consumption of
low-fibre, energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. Obesity from middle
age reduces life expectancy by almost a decade - comparable with
smoking twenty cigarettes a day. The growing incidence of childhood
obesity is of special concern.

The key challenge is to find acceptable and sustainable changes in diet and
lifestyle to reverse this trend. As summarised by the American Dietetic
Association position paper[i], appropriately planned vegetarian diets have
been shown to be healthful, nutritionally adequate, and beneficial in the
prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Vegetarian diets are
appropriate for all stages of the life cycle and Western vegetarians have
consistently been found to be lighter than their meat-eating compatriots.
Plant-based diets also encourage more sustainable and equitable use
of the Earth's resources while avoiding the increasing dangers of
animal-borne diseases and heavy metal contamination of fish,
particularly in pregnancy and early childhood.

Dietary fibre reduces obesity and probably decreases the risk of diabetes
and cardiovascular disease while saturated fat increases the risk of
cardiovascular disease and probably also diabetes[ii]. Brightly coloured
fruits and vegetables are particularly beneficial. Shifting from a diet
high in animal products, refined grains and sugar to a diet high in whole
plant foods can greatly reduce the risk of and from obesity.

Vegetarians and particularly vegans have a lower average body mass index
than meat eaters. In the Seven Countries study, which strongly linked
saturated fat with heart disease, fibre intake was the strongest dietary
predictor of leanness[iii]. The Finnish Diabetes Prevention Trial[iv]
set targets for five aspects of diet and lifestyle: physical activity,
weight reduction, increased fibre, reduced overall fat and reduced
saturated fat. There was a 58% reduction in the number developing
diabetes and a particularly striking relationship with the number of
targets met:

Total number of targets met: 0 1 2 3 4 5
Percentage developing diabetes: 38 15 14 5 0 0

A broad shift to a more plant-based diet has also been shown to reduce
the risk of death in heart attack survivors. The Lyon Diet Heart Trial[v]
replaced butter and cream with rapeseed oil margarine (high in
omega-3s) and increased the consumption of fruit and vegetables,
resulting in a 70% reduction in mortality after two years.

The characteristics of a health-promoting diet are clear: more fibre,
folate, omega-3 fats and antioxidants from fruit, vegetables, seeds
and whole grains, and less saturated fat.

Food manufacturers have a key role in supporting or subverting healthy
eating. Individuals may choose skimmed milk to protect their health,
but as Harvard's Professor Walter Willett observed, "once a cow is
milked, the fat from that milk is in the food supply, and someone
ends up eating or drinking it."
Guacamole - a traditional plant-based dip - now all too often contains a
generous measure of unwanted saturated fat from the dairy industry.
Labels declaring just 2% fat (by volume or weight) when the product
may be over 30% by calories (e.g. "low-fat" milk) are also not
conducive to healthy consumer choice.

Freshly prepared unprocessed foods are the best and most economical solution
for both health and weight, but even convenience foods can be significantly
improved by minor modifications: soluble fibre can be added to many foods
and saturated fats can be replaced by cheap and cheerful rapeseed oil
without compromising palatability or cost.

Politicians, too, have a key role in promoting clear public health
guidelines, better food labelling and subsidies for healthier options.
For instance, more than half of UK agricultural subsidies go to red meat
and milk production (high saturated fat and low fibre) and almost none
to horticulture.

We invite the WHO to consider carefully the potential of appropriate
vegetarian diets to counter the threat of obesity and assist in the
development of sustainable, satisfying, healthful and affordable
food production.


Dr. Igor Bukovsky
President of the European Vegetarian Union
www.european-vegetarian.org -

Stephen Walsh PhD, Science Co-ordinator, International Vegetarian Union.
http://www.ivu.org/ - science@ivu.org

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For more information, see Plant Based Nutrition and Health,
published September 2003, ISBN 0-907337-26-0
or contact science@ivu.org or EVU secretary

[i] Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2003; 103: 748-765,
Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada:
Vegetarian diets.

[ii] Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic disease, 2003, WHO
Technical Report Series 916

[iii] Daan Kromhout et al., International Journal of Obesity, 2001; 25:
301-306, Physical activity and dietary fibre determines population body fat
levels: the Seven Countries Study.

[iv] Tuomilehto (2001): Jaakko Tuomilehto et al., New England Journal of
Medicine, 2001; 344: 1343-1350, Prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus by
changes in lifestyle among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance.

[v] De Lorgeril (1999): Michel de Lorgeril et al., Circulation, 1999; 99:
779-785, Mediterranean diet, traditional risk factors, and the risk of
cardiovascular complications after myocardial infarction.