Preventing childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes: advancing leadership for sustainable impact
May 19, 2026Ending childhood obesity is an urgent public health priority with significant implications for equity, health system resilience, and sustainable development. In 2025, global estimates showed that overweight and obesity among school-age children and adolescents now exceed underweight for the first time. marking a profound shift in the global malnutrition landscape.
This transition threatens the long-term health and productivity of children, communities, and nations, and its roots often begin before birth, as pregnancy-related conditions such as gestational diabetes and maternal obesity can significantly shape a child's future risk of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic conditions While this trend is worldwide, the steepest increases are occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where rapid urbanisation, changing food environments, and limited access to prevention and care intensify risk, making a life-course approach to prevention all the more critical.
This event is hybrid with virtual registration available via the link at the bottom of this page.
If you will be in Geneva during the World Health Assembly and would like to attend in person please email events@worldobesity.org.
Addressing the rapid rise in childhood overweight and obesity requires coordinated multisectoral action across food systems, urban environments, education, and health systems. Evidence-based policies—such as healthier school food environments, restrictions on marketing to children, fiscal measures, and urban planning that promotes physical activity—must be complemented by integrating prevention and care into national NCD and diabetes strategies and sustainable health financing. Such alignment can reduce the pressure on health systems while advancing equity, especially in LMICs facing the double burden or malnutrition.
This side event on the margins of the 79th World Health Assembly will provide a platform to advance policy dialogue on childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes prevention. Bringing together Member State representatives, civil society and healthcare professionals, it will facilitate exchange of evidence, policy experiences, and implementation lessons to support stronger political leadership, foster multisectoral collaboration, and accelerate coordinated action. The event will also introduce the World Diabetes Day 2026–2027 theme, “Early Diagnosis and Prevention”.
- Present new global evidence on childhood overweight/obesity and projections for type 2 diabetes, and their implications for health systems and development agendas.
- Showcase country policy implementation - across food systems, schools and communities, urban design, and primary care - highlighting effectiveness, feasibility, equity impacts, and transferability for adaptation and scale-up with stories framed around promoting healthy childhood and preventing malnutrition in all its forms.
- Strengthen multistakeholder commitment to integrated, life-course, socioecological primary prevention of type 2 diabetes through childhood obesity prevention, in line with the Political Declaration of the 4th UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and WHO guidance.
- Introduce the World Diabetes Day 2026-2027 theme, “Early Diagnosis and Prevention”, and how early-life action can accelerate policy and practice in diabetes and NCD risk reduction.
Register to watch
Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation shaping healthier futures. Register now to join online Preventing childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes: advancing leadership for sustainable impact and join global leaders driving action for the next generation.
If you will be in Geneva during the World Health Assembly and would like to attend in person please email events@worldobesity.org.
Register hereThis event is jointly hosted and funded by World Obesity Federation, World Diabetes Foundation and International Diabetes Federation. World Obesity’s contribution is partially supported by a sponsorship from Novo Nordisk. Novo Nordisk has not had any control or influence over the content of the event, or any materials/activities that were developed as part of this event.