As Global Obesity Rates Soar, World Leaders in Lifestyle Medicine Join Hands with the UN, Urge Healthy Diets for All on World Food Day

ST. LOUIS, Mo., Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A combination of unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles is sending obesity rates soaring in developed and low-income countries across the world, adding to the global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

On World Food Day, Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance (LMGA) is urging global communities to consider food as medicine.

"There is growing evidence today that the vast majority of chronic disease is rooted in unhealthy lifestyle choices," said Margarete Ezinwa, Director of Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance.

"By eating healthy, being physically active, getting restorative sleep, managing stress, avoiding risky substance abuse, and having positive social connections, we can prevent, treat - and often reverse non-communicable diseases." she added.

According to the UN, over 670 million adults around the world are obese. Some 120 million girls and boys age five to 19 are obese, and over 40 million children under five are overweight. An estimated $2 trillion US is spent each year to treat health problems caused by obesity.

LMGA is calling for action across sectors to help achieve a world without non-communicable diseases, to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone.

"It's time we start thinking about what we eat. The science overwhelmingly supports a predominantly whole food, plant-based diet, along with lifestyle changes to tackle NCDs head on," Ezinwa said.

ABOUT LIFESTYLE MEDICINE GLOBAL ALLIANCE (LMGA)

LMGA represents the convergence of national Lifestyle Medicine physician and allied health professional associations from around the world, with the goal of reining in the alarming rise in global obesity and lifestyle-related chronic disease trends.

Lifestyle Medicine is the evidence-based medical specialty that uses lifestyle therapeutic approaches, such as a predominantly whole food, plant-based diet, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connection as a primary therapeutic modality for treatment and reversal of chronic disease.

For more information, visit http://www.lifestylemedicineglobal.org

SOURCE Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance