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60 Food & Drug L.J. 569 (2005)
The World Health Organization's Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health: Turning Strategy into Action

handle is hein.journals/foodlj60 and id is 597 raw text is: The World Health Organization's Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health: Turning Strategy Into Action EMiLY LEE * 1. INTRODUCTION The worldwide impact of diet- and inactivity-related diseases and health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and obesity pose an increasing threat to international health and economic development, manifesting the modem interdependence of global public health conditions. The severity of the problem recently prompted governments and policymakers to shift their attentions to food regulations, including those concern- ing marketing and labeling, ingredient composition, fiscal measures, and agricultural policy, as possible mechanisms to combat this public health crisis. A notable example of this trend on the international front is the 2004 Global Strategy for Diet, Health, and Physical Activity (Global Strategy).' The World Health Organization2 (WHO), a special- ized body of the United Nations (UN), developed the Global Strategy after the World Health Assembly (WHA) authorized the WHO to address the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases on a worldwide scale.' Essentially, the Global Strategy is a nonbinding blueprint of policy mechanisms countries can use in fighting obesity and other diet- and inactivity-related diseases within their borders.' While the ultimate success of the Global Strategy remains uncertain at this early stage, it is clear that the forces of globalization, international trade, and transnational marketing continue to undermine national laws and policies aimed at addressing the global epidemic. Partnerships that reach across national borders, and that affect all global stakeholders, are needed to resolve regulatory gaps to ensure best practices and improve enforcement. This article discusses the legal contribution that the WHO can make in that regard, and in other areas that would assist the global fight against diet- and inactivity-related diseases. The Global Strategy outlines the WHO's implementation role as primarily facilitative and technical.' This limited role is questionable given the * Ms. Lee is a 2006 J.D. candidate at Harvard Law School. This article received an Honorable Mention in the 2005 H. Thomas Austern Memorial Writing Award Competition (long papers). This article was written to fulfill the writing requirement at Harvard Law School. The author gives grateful thanks to Bruce Silverglade and Dr. Derek Yach for providing their vision, guidance, and expertise during the writing process. She also would like to thank Professor Peter Hun and Michael McCann for their helpful comments and suggestions. l See WHA57.17 (2004), available at http://www.who.int/entity/dietphysicalactivity/strategy/ ebl 1344/strategyenglish web.pdf (last visited Nov. 24, 2005). 2 The World Health Organization (WHO) was founded in 1946 as a specialized agency of the United Nations, and is the direct successor of pre-existing international health organizations. The Constitution of the WHO entered into force on April 7, 1948. See S.S. Fluss et al., World Health Organization, in INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LAWS II (Herman Nys ed., 1998). 3 See WHA53.17 (2000), available at http://www.who.int/gb/EB_WHA/PDF/WHA53/Res WHA53/17.pdf; WHA55.23 (2002), available at http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA55/ ewha5523.pdf (last visited Nov. 24, 2005). 1 The Global Strategy addresses a variety of public policy initiatives such as consumer education, fiscal measures, and changes in agricultural policies to address public health problems related to diet and physical inactivity. This article focuses on three specific recommendations in the Global Strategy concerning food marketing, labeling, and composition. Responsibilities for Action: WHO, WHA57.17, Annex (2004) states that: WHO will provide support for implementation of programmes as requested by Member continued 569

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