No UHC without obesity: leaders unite at UNGA81 breakfast roundtable

UN General Assembly High-Level Breakfast Meeting: 23 September 2026, New York City

Ahead of the 2027 UN High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage, leaders at UNGA81 came together to explore how obesity can be built into stronger, fairer, and more sustainable health systems.

Why obesity matters for UHC

Obesity is putting growing pressure on health systems around the world, contributing to higher rates of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), rising healthcare costs, lost productivity and widening health inequities. As development financing tightens, multilateral institutions evolve and countries prepare for the 2027 UN High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), there is a real opportunity to rethink where obesity sits on global health and development agendas. Building obesity prevention and management into health systems, primary healthcare and broader development goals will be key to achieving healthier populations, more resilient health systems, and sustainable development.

Convening leaders at UNGA81

On the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, the World Obesity Federation convened a high-level breakfast roundtable, ‘Obesity, Health Systems and Sustainable Development’, at the River Club of New York. Co-hosted with the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Government of Thailand, and the Government of Kenya, the meeting brought together senior government leaders, international organisations, civil society, academia and the private sector, alongside people with lived experience of obesity.

Opening the roundtable, Dr Bruno Halpern, President of the World Obesity Federation, explained that the aim was not to simply restate the scale of the challenge. Instead, the session would explore what coordinated action could look like, where it is already happening, and where there are opportunities to go further.

Countries shared examples of how they are already taking action

Other key priorities emerged from the discussion:

• Better data: Dr Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), highlighted that there is still a need for country-level data disaggregated by sex, region and income. This type of data is particularly difficult to collect in small island states with limited resources. PAHO’s work to build capacity in these countries is enabling more detailed data collection.

• Financing: Paula Johns of ACT Health Promotion stated that the issue is often not a lack of resources but where they are directed. Spending on obesity prevention and management is not prioritised. She also stressed the daily work involved in implementing and protecting health taxes in the face of constant industry lobbying. Jeremy Veillard of the World Bank described the Bank’s growing work to address obesity and NCD risk factors as part of its goal to reach 1.5 billion people with UHC by 2030.

• Collaboration across the NCD community: Dr Joanna Laurson-Doube of the NCD Alliance highlighted points of intersection in the NCD space, such as addressing the social and commercial determinants of health. Rosie Tasker of the Union for International Cancer Control pointed to opportunities for obesity to be integrated into national cancer control plans given its strong links with cancer, particularly postmenopausal breast cancer. She added that the Accra Reset’s “one plan, one budget” approach offers a chance to engage directly with governments and bring obesity into NCD plans.

• Common measures: Professor Jeffrey Lazarus of the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and ISGlobal suggested that existing obesity and diabetes measures could also be used to identify and monitor steatotic liver disease, which has been largely overlooked in global health discussions. He stressed the importance of collaboration across cardiometabolic health, arguing that obesity, diabetes, and liver disease share common risk factors that are most effectively addressed together.

Lived experience at the table

People with lived experience of obesity brought the realities of living without fair access to treatment to the conversation.

Looking ahead to 2027

Participants agreed that the 2027 High-Level Meeting on UHC will be a critical opportunity to secure obesity’s place in UHC. Dr Sealey-Thomas noted that political declarations can build momentum, and that explicit recognition of obesity in the next one could shape future action and bring greater global attention to the issue. 

Dr Piukala set out what is needed for the next phase of action: scale, speed and accountability. Doing more of the same and expecting a different result is not a strategy, he argued. Countries must learn from what works and stop investing in solutions that are not delivering impact. He also warned that delay carries a cost. Every year without action, more children are affected and the economic burden grows. Making obesity real for people is essential, he said, because behind every statistic is a child, a family and a future, and obesity can follow a child for a lifetime.

Closing the meeting, Johanna Ralston, CEO of the World Obesity Federation, emphasised that no country, and no person, is immune to obesity. There are now over one billion people living with obesity, the majority of whom live in LMICs, where rates are also rising fastest. New guidelines on GLP-1 medicines are not a silver bullet, she said, but they do offer real opportunities, as long as shame and stigma no longer prevent people from seeking care.

^{World Obesity acknowledges the financial support of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to facilitate the logistics of this event. Neither company had any control or influence over materials or activities related to this event. You can find more information on how we engage with partner organisations here.}