Paul Zimmet, professor at Australia's Monash University said, "This insidious, creeping pandemic of obesity is now engulfing the entire world."
He said the problem was "led by affluent western nations, whose physical activity and dietary habits are regrettably being adopted by developing nations."
Figures from the World Health Organization showed there are more obese people compared to undernourished individuals. Data from the WHO says there were an estimated over one billion overweight people as against the estimated 800 million who are hungry.
A professor from the University of Sydney, Ian Caterson, who co-chairs the event adds, "The conference will treat obesity as the keystone of all health priorities because it is the single greatest contributor to chronic disease throughout the world.
"There are now more overweight people in the world than undernourished and we are seeing the double burden of the extremes of malnutrition, undernutrition and overnutrition, in many developing countries."
He adds, "We know this is not about gluttony, it is the interaction of heredity and environment. We know that small changes can make a big difference in people's weight and health."
The conference is calling for nations to immediately address the problem by shifting policies on urban and social planning, agriculture, education, transport and other areas. They said suggesting a change in diet and exercise will not be sufficient in solving the problem.
