Childhood obesity: political developments in Europe and related perspectives for future action on prevention

The dramatically increasing prevalence of obesity, especially among children, has become a major public health problem in Europe. In reaction to this alarming trend, a series of initiatives and actions has been launched in recent years. As the potential impact of these activities is widely unknown so far, we underline the need for adequate evaluation of these measures. The aim of this paper is to report the latest developments in the fight against obesity at different political levels across Europe, with special attention to the major results of the recent World Health Organization European Ministerial Conference on Counteracting Obesity. In accordance with the main principles of the European Charter on Counteracting Obesity adopted at the meeting, immediate action should be taken now by implementing the few available schemes with proven effectiveness. Finally, given the lack of appropriate evaluation, we consider it particularly important to establish national research centres to collect country-specific data that are to be evaluated together by a central European administration department. Based on the results of such a comprehensive data pool, concrete strategies could be developed for future policy building.