On April 23, 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released an independent report entitled Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. The report identifies new recommendations for governments on diet and physical activity that can be used to combat chronic conditions (i.e., cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, and various cancers) by decreasing the incidence of risk factors (i.e., hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, overweight, and sedentary lifestyles).

The report outlines approaches to altering nutritional intake while increasing energy expenditure. These include:

• Performing moderate-intensity physical activity for at least an hour per day;
• Increasing the dietary intake of fruits and vegetables; and
• Reducing the intake of sodium, as well as foods with elevated saturated fat and/or sugars levels.

As next steps, WHO is preparing the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, while FAO is working to monitor diets, identify information needs, and explore the impact of the recommendations on policy and practice.

The independent report on diet and chronic disease can be downloaded at http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/who_fao_expert_report.pdf.