Creating the Conditions for People to Lead Healthy, Fulfilling Lives: Law Reform to Prevent and Control NCDs
Belinda Reeve and Lawrence O Gostin

“Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs; e.g., cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease) represent a profound threat to the health of the world ’s population, accounting for over two-thirds of deaths worldwide and more than half of the global disease burden.¹ Globally, NCD rates continue to rise, with the prevalence of diabetes increasing by 45% between 1990 to 2013.² Closer to home, 90% of deaths in Australia have chronic disease as an underlying cause, and NCDs make up around 85% of the burden of disease.³ Perhaps even more troubling is that a quarter of Australian children are overweight or obese, creating immediate problems for young people’s health, and putting a future generation of adults at greater risk of obesity and NCDs.⁴ …”