Statement to the Plenary Session of the Second G20 Health Working Group

Statement to the Plenary Session of the Second G20 Health Working Groupt

Obesity touches upon almost every Sustainable Development Goal: nutrition, water and sanitation, gender equality, climate action, partnerships. It is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a disease in itself as well as a major driver of a multitude of other NCDs, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. Almost 2 billion people in G20 countries live with overweight or obesity, and the ill health and costs faced by societies account for a startling economic impact of 1.9% of GDP annually. By 2030, three quarters of people with overweight and obesity will live in G20 countries.

Achieving global NCD targets requires: firstly, urgent policy action to address shared risk factors, and secondly, healthcare reforms and ensure access to prevention, treatment, and management. Many of the same policies that prevent and manage obesity will reduce multiple other NCDs—a ‘win-win’ action that is highly cost-effective for health budgets and more feasible for health systems to deliver within their capacities.

Ahead of the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Political Declaration, we welcome G20 nations discussing UHC, primary health care systems strengthening, equitable access, and service integration, and we urge that obesity – as an NCD with such impact on the wider NCDs - is not overlooked. Implementation of policies to reduce unhealthy product consumption and restrict marketing harmful to children, is crucial.

The G20 has the power to drive global multisectoral action on obesity, thereby enabling the much-needed breakthrough we need to achieve NCD targets and leave no one behind.