Policies to prevent childhood obesity in the European Union.

The increasing prevalence of childhood obesity needs to be addressed. Without clear evidence to show which preventive interventions are most likely to work, a series of precautionary measures can be suggested. At a meeting of scientific experts organised by the International Obesity TaskForce and held at the European Congress on Obesity in May, 2004, a number of measures were proposed which follow the precautionary principle of promoting health while being unlikely to increase the risk of harm. The proposals are reported in the present paper.