[Event Report] Obesity Control Promotion Project Public Symposium “Obesity Control as a Social Issue; Toward the Realization of Citizen-Centered Policies” (December 4, 2024)

date : 3/4/2025

Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) helda public symposium titled “Obesity Control as a Social Issue; Toward the Realization of Citizen-Centered Policies” on December 4, 2024.Globally, the number of people suffering from obesity and obesity-related chronic diseases has been increasing rapidly. In 2022, it was estimated that the global population of people with obesity exceeded 1 billion. In Japan, the number of individuals with obesity has also been on the rise. Since 2008, specific medical checkups and provide specific health guidance for obesity have been implemented. While life expectancy has continued to increase, it has become clear that there have been no significant improvements in criteria related to lifestyle habits. For example, the number of individuals meeting the criteria for metabolic syndrome or those at risk has not decreased.

Since 2022, HGPI has been advancing obesity control promotion project aimed at raising social awareness about obesity (condition) and obesity (disease). In 2023, the project focused on the healthcare delivery system, and conducted interviews with people living with obesity and healthcare providers. The project reported policy recommendations “The Next Steps for Engaging and Cooperating with Patients, Citizens, and Communities for Implements of Obesity Control Measurements” on the patient journey based on these interviews. An advisory board was then formed and meetings were held to discuss the ideal form of treatment along the patient journey, from how to identify patients with obesity for health checkups and connect them to medical care, to developing a multidisciplinary medical care delivery system for patients with severe obesity (disease), as well as the need to prevent obesity by dispelling stigma and promoting appropriate nutrition and exercise habits.

This symposium was held to inform and disseminate the above policy recommendations issued in the previous fiscal year, and we wanted to discuss them in depth with experts based on the content of the recommendations. We also took this opportunity to discuss how we could further increase the social momentum for obesity and obesity-related diseases, and how society as a whole could work together to combat obesity and obesity-related diseases.

[Event Overview]

Date & Time: Wednesday, December 4, 2024; 13:30-18:00 (open from 13:15) JST
Format: Hybrid (In-Person and Online (Zoom Webinar))
Venue: KUDAN-KAIKAN TERRACE (1-6-5 Kudanminami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
Language: Japanese
Organizer: Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI)

[Program] (Titles omitted, no particular order)

13:30-13:40

Explanatory Introduction

Asako Okawa (Associate, HGPI)

13:45-14:05

Keynote Lecture “Challenges of Obesity in Japan and the Measures Needed for the Future”

Koutaro Yokote (President of Japan Society for the Study of Obesity/ President of Chiba University)

14:10-15:25

Discussion1 “Roles and Collaboration of Stakeholders in Obesity and Obesity disease Management Across the Life Course”

Panelists:
Asuka Kato (Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Social Behavior, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo)
Tsuguhiko Kato (Associate Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management, St.Luke’s International University Graduate School of Public Health)
Ichiro Tatsuno (Director, Japanese Society for Treatment of Obesity; President, Chiba Prefectural University of Health Sciences)　　　　　　　
Seitaro Dohi (CEO, MOANA-Dohi Industrial Physician Office, Inc./Professor of Industrial Hygiene, University of Occupational and Environmental Health/Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Technology)
Mihoko Yoshino (Executive Director-Medical, Diabetes Products, Japan Drug Development & Medical Affairs, Eli Lilly Japan K.K.)

Moderator:
Eri Yoshimura (Senior Manager, HGPI)

15:30-16:50

Discussion 2 “A Community-Based Obesity Care System from the Perspective of Those Affected”

Panelists:
Kazuo Kobayashi (Japan Physicians Association / Director, Kobayashi Internal Medicine Clinic)
Atsuhito Saiki (Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Toho University)
Sayaka Tsuji (Registered Dietitian, Obesity Treatment Coordinator, Toho University Medical Center Sakura Hospital) 　　　
Izumi Hamada (Vice President, Market Access & External Affairs Division, Members of the Board, Novo Nordisk Pharma Ltd.)
Masaaki Yokota (Assistant Director-General, Health and Welfare Bureau, City of Chiba)

Moderator:
Shotaro Tsukamoto (Senior Associate, HGPI)