May 15, 2003

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland
Director General
World Health Organization
20 Avenue Appia
CH-11 Geneva 27
Switzerland

Dear Dr. Brundtland:

We wish to state our support for the WHO's Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health.

As part of this strategy, we urge you to support the development of recommendations to national governments such as to:

• Restrict television advertising of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods to children and require television broadcasters to provide messages promoting healthy eating and physical activity;
• Require fast food and other chain restaurants to provide information about calorie content on menus or menu boards;
• Provide funding for mass media campaigns that promote healthy eating and physical activity;
• Create policies, including fiscal, that encourage the use of healthier fats and oils in the production of processed foods;
• Subsidize the cost of nutritious, low-calorie foods, perhaps by raising the costs of selected high-calorie, low-nutrient foods in vending machines and school cafeterias, and reducing the prices of fruits and vegetables;
• Offer incentives to restaurants that provide free salads (or other fruits or vegetables) with meals and that reduce the prices of the most nutritious foods on their menus;

While not the sole reason for poor diets, advertising, labeling, fiscal polices, and other aspects of the food environment encourage and support the consumption of high-calorie, low- nutrient foods. While physical activity plays a key role in reducing the incidence of chronic disease, restrictions on food marketing aimed at children, educational efforts, and appropriate fiscal policies are essential tools in the effort to improve diet and health.

Thank you for considering our views.

Sincerely,

Bruce Silverglade
Director of Legal Affairs

On behalf of:

Walter Willett, MD
Harvard School of Public Health

Henry Blackburn, MD
University of Minnesota

Frank M. Sacks, MD
Harvard School of Public Health

Leslie O. Strolla, MS, CHES
Brown University Institute for Community Health Promotion

Barry M. Popkin, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

R. James Barnard, Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

William E. Connor, MD
Oregon Health and Science University

Alberto Ascherio, MD, DrPH
Harvard School of Public Health

Stephen Havas, MD, MPH, MS
University of Maryland School of Medicine

Bill Reger, Ed.D.
West Virginia University School of Medicine

Simone A. French, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota

Marion Nestle, MPH, Ph.D.
New York University

Matthew W. Gillman, MD, SM
Harvard Medical School

Allan A. Johnson, Ph.D., LN
Howard University

Robert W. Jeffery, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota School of Public Health

Jodie Bey, RN, BSN
Bradley School Nurse

Shirley A.A. Beresford, Ph.D.
University of Washington

David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM
Yale University School of Medicine

Gerald S. Berenson, MD
Tulane University Health Sciences Center

Margo N. Woods, D.Sc.
Tufts University School of Medicine