On October 5 and November 17, 2023, Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) Obesity Control Promotion Project hold advisory board meeting for an initiative titled, “The Next Steps for Engaging and Cooperating with Patients, Citizens, and Communities for Implements of Obesity Control Measurements.” The meeting was held in a hybrid format.
Health policy proposal based on discussion of these advisory bord meetings will be published.

Compounded factors like lifestyle changes and urbanization have led to the growing prevalence of obesity, chronic diseases, and non-communicable diseases (NCDs: Non-Communicable Diseases) not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. For many years, this transformation has been called a “Silent Pandemic.” Since 2008, all insurers in Japan have been obligated to conduct specific medical checkups and provide specific health guidance for obesity, a known factor for many chronic diseases. In the final evaluation of “Health Japan 21 (Second Term),” healthy life expectancy has been extended; however, there is evidence that certain lifestyle evaluation criteria, such as reducing the number of individuals with metabolic syndrome and its preconditions, have not shown improvement.

In light of this background, HGPI has launched the “Obesity Control Promotion Project” from 2022, aiming to raise overall societal awareness of obesity and promote more effective and integrated measures.

The second phase, fiscal 2023, aims to establish a system where individuals with obesity can promptly receive appropriate medical care and implement specific measures to promote and enhance this system. The focus is on identifying realistic and sustainable obesity policies that should be promoted and implemented at the national and local government levels, and conducting advocacy activities.

This advisory board meeting was held, incorporating the patient journeys of individuals with obesity and the experiences of clinical settings. The focus was on how medical care and connections to healthcare should be established for obesity, and a multi-stakeholder dialogue took place regarding the structure of healthcare delivery systems.

[Event Overview]

First Meeting
Date: Thursday, October 5, 2023; from 14:00 to 16:00 JST
Format: Hybrid (Zoom conferencing system and in-person participation at the venue)

Second Meeting
Date: Friday, November 17, 2023; from 10:00 to 12:00 JST
Format: Hybrid (Zoom conferencing system and in-person participation at the venue)

■Advisory board members (titles omitted; in Japanese syllabary order)

Tomonori Okamura (Professor, School of Medicine Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Keio University)
Yuko Oguma (Associate Professor, Sports Medicine Research Center, Graduate School of Health Management, Keio University)
Tetsuya Kakuma (Professor, Faculty of Medicine Department of Nursing Fundamental Nursing Sciences Health Sciences, Oita University)
Iwao Kurose (Executive Director, Japan Medical Association)
Atsuhito Saiki (Director, Diabetology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Toho University Sakura Medical Center)
Takeshi (George) Imaoka (Associate vice President, Medical, Diabetes Products and Clinical Pharmacology Medical, Japan Drug Development and Medical Affairs, Eli Lilly Japan K.K）
Tomotaka Shingaki (Sr.Advisor-Medical, Diabetes products and clinical Pharmacology Medical, Japan Drug Development and Medical Affairs)
Hiroshi Sugii (Vice chair/ Member of the board, AVP CMRQ Development Region Japan, CMRQ Development Division, Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltb.)
Ichiro Tatsuno (Chairman, Japanese Society for Treatment of Obesity/ President, Chiba Prefectural University of Health Sciences)
Sayaka Tsuji (Bariatric Treatment Coordinator, Toho University Sakura Medical Center)
Koutaro Yokote (President, Japan Society for the Study of Obesity/ Director General, Chiba University Hospital)

■Observer (titles omitted; in Japanese syllabary order)

Kazutaka Tanabe (Director, Women’s Health Promotion Office, Health Service Division, Health Service Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
Yasuhiro Nishijima (Director, Cancer and Disease Control Division, Health Service Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and welfare)

■Sponsors (in Japanese syllabary order)

National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) Global Health Innovation Policy Program (GHIPP)
Eli Lilly Japan K.K
Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd.