Giving Compass' Take:

• Deborah A. Cohen shares four lessons learned from Chile's obesity-control strategies aimed at curbing the nation's epidemic, which is mirrored around the world. 

• How can funders help governments take these learnings into use? 

• Learn more about the causes of and solutions to rising obesity rates. 

Chile has taken the lead in identifying and implementing obesity-control strategies that could prove to be the beginning of the end of the epidemic. And the country's success on this front can serve as a four-point lesson plan other countries could follow.

  1. Take action: Chile recognizes obesity rates are a crisis that demands urgent action. Instead of worrying about whether they had enough evidence to move forward, Chilean policymakers acted on the best evidence available.
  2. Recognize the problem: They realized that an epidemic of obesity is primarily the consequence of the consumption of excess sugar, salt, and fat found in ultra-processed foods and beverages. Instead of advising their citizens on what they need to eat, policymakers learned it was more important to warn them about what foods to avoid.
  3. Put people first: According to Chilean officials, the opinions of the food industry were heard and considered, but the policies were crafted to make the best interests of Chilean citizens a priority.
  4. Simplify communication: Chile's Ministry of Health worked with graphic artists to develop simple warning labels. These black-and-white stop signs note whether a product has an excessive quantity of salt, sugar, calories or fat—enough to increase the risk of a chronic disease.

Read the full article about obesity-control strategies by Deborah A. Cohen at RAND.