Sanja Musić Milanović at Slovenian Conference: The Zagreb Declaration Sets the Stage for Coordinated Action to Combat Childhood Obesity

Professor Sanja Musić Milanović, the spouse of the President of the Republic of Croatia, attended the conference “Together for a Healthy Lifestyle” in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on Wednesday. Organized by the Slovenian National Institute of Public Health and under the auspices of Aleš Musar, the spouse of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, the event highlighted the importance of a healthy lifestyle for children and adolescents. It also explored how preventive programs, measures, and policies can improve their health.

“Complex issues like these often rely on the presence of high profile individuals, teams, or institutions that are motivated and have the opportunity to place and keep issues like these high on the political agenda. The Zagreb Summit brought together relevant stakeholders from across Europe in order to jointly set the priorities in the field of obesity prevention from an early age. The Summit was addressed by 16 Spouses of European Leaders including one of my hosts today, the spouse of the President of Slovenia Aleš Musar. Together, we launched the Network on the Prevention of Childhood Obesity. Simultaneously, through supporting the Zagreb Declaration we laid the groundwork for coordinated advocacy and started concrete action to finally halt the rise of childhood obesity in the WHO European Region,” said Professor Milanović, in reference to the Zagreb Declaration, which was adopted at the Summit of the Spouses of European Leaders. The event was organized last May in Zagreb by the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia and the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe).

“I am proud to point out that as a follow up to the Zagreb Summit, Slovenia developed its own list of policy recommendations and adapted them to its national context from the recommendations laid out in the Zagreb Declaration,” she added. Moreover, Professor Musić Milanović stressed that we stand to learn a lot from each other and cautioned that obesity as a global public health challenge knows no borders.

“Only through consolidating and prioritizing our actions will we be able to show a combined and harmonized effort, make progress and improve the health and well-being of current and future generations. Moreover, overweight is associated with a range of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, resulting in substantial healthcare costs. Our collective response to the childhood obesity epidemic must be comprehensive and sustainable and the Zagreb Declaration provides a roadmap for further coordinated action. Childhood obesity is a disease of epidemic proportions, and Croatia, along with our entire European Region, is among the most affected,” said the spouse of the President of the Republic of Croatia, adding that she firmly believes that the Zagreb Declaration is a crucial step in halting the rise of childhood obesity across the entire European Region.

Earlier, Professor Musić Milanović participated in a round table with Dr. Aleš Musar, the spouse of the President of the Republic of Slovenia. During her presentation, she introduced the national program “Healthy Living,” which has been implemented in Croatia since 2015. This program aims to promote and improve the health of Croatian citizens by encouraging proper nutrition and physical activity to prevent excess body weight and obesity. “The most important determinants of health in the Republic of Croatia, but also in Europe, are related to behavioural and biomedical risk factors for the development of today’s leading chronic non-communicable diseases, from which more than 90% of people fall ill and die in Croatia,” she said, adding that the data related to the behavioural risks associated with the development of obesity are a cause for concern. “Therefore, the general goal of the program is to improve the health of the population by reducing the negative effect of behavioural, biomedical and socio-medical risk factors and by creating an environment in which it is possible for everyone to have the highest level of health and quality of life,” said Professor Musić Milanović, in reference to the “Healthy Living” program, adding that it is scientifically-based. In this context, she highlighted that the program aims to achieve comprehensiveness in public health by addressing various areas, goals, actors, and activities. It emphasizes multi-sectoral and multidimensional cooperation at all levels and focuses on improving individual health in local environments by targeting the fundamental determinants of health.

In addition to Professor Musić Milanović and Dr. Musar, the conference in Ljubljana featured several other prominent participants. These included Branko Gabrovac, Director of the Slovenian National Institute of Public Health; Eva Vodnik, State Secretary of the Slovenian Ministry of Health; Melita Vujnović, Head of the World Health Organization Office in Slovenia; Julienne Williams, WHO/Europe Technical Officer; Mojca Gabrijelčič, Senior Adviser at the Slovenian National Institute of Public Health; Gregor Starc, Professor from the Faculty of Sports at the University of Ljubljana; Nada Rotovnik Kozjek, Representative of the Slovenian Institute of Oncology; Tadej Battelino, Representative of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts; and Marjeta Recek, Head of the Sector for Healthcare from the Slovenian Ministry of Health.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas