UN experts have highlighted the need to address obesity and unhealthy diets. “Parts of the world are quite literally eating themselves to death”, Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), warned on Monday at the opening of the 67th World Health Assembly in Geneva. Around 3.4 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. “Hunger and under-nutrition remain an extremely stubborn problem. At the other extreme, we see no good evidence that the prevalence of obesity and diet- related non-communicable diseases is receding anywhere”, Chan said, expressing deep concern over the global increase in childhood obesity. More than 40 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2012, with numbers climbing fastest in developing countries. To tackle the problem, the UN health body will establish a high-level Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity. The commission will produce a report, to be published in 2015, specifying which approaches are likely to be most effective in different contexts across the globe. The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, called for a new global agreement to regulate unhealthy diets. He said that, despite worrying signs, the international community paid too little attention to the problem. In his 2012 report, the Special Rapporteur identified five priority actions to address obesity and unhealthy diets: taxing unhealthy products; regulating foods high in saturated fats, salt and sugar; cracking down on junk food advertising; overhauling agricultural subsidies that make certain ingredients cheaper; and supporting local food production. “Attempts to promote healthy diets will only work if the food systems underpinning them are put right,” De Schutter added on Monday.