MINISTRY OF HEALTH PALAU - ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK INSTITUTE
CONFERENCE
Obesity in Asia & the Pacific:
Facts, Prospects, Consequences and
Policies for Better Health
Koror, Palau
17-18 August 2016
Day 1: 17 August 2016
9:15 – 9:30
Registration
9:30 – 09:50 Opening Remarks
Gregorio Ngirmang, Minister of Health (Palau)
Guanghua Wan, Research Director, ADBI
9:50 – 10:30 Overview of Research Project
Guanghua Wan (Research Director, ADBI) and Matthias Helble (Research
Economist, ADBI)
10:30 – 10:50 Coffee break
10:50 – 12:40 Session I: Facts about Overweight and Obesity in Asia and the Pacific
Synopsis: This session will present most recent data on overweight and obesity in Asia and
the Pacific. It will show how overweight and obesity has become a major public health
problem over the last two decades in both subregions.
Moderator: Matthias Helble (Research Economist, ADBI)
Speakers:
 Dr. Soewarta Kosen, Senior Policy Researcher and Coordinator at the Health
Economics and Policy Analysis Unit, National Institute of Health Research and
Development, Indonesia
 Dr. Jillian T. Wate, Deputy Director Research, Pacific Research Centre for the
Prevention of Obesity and Non-Communicable Diseases, Fiji
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12:40 – 14:00 Lunch Break
14:00 – 15:30 Session II: Determinants of Overweight and Obesity in Asia and the
Pacific
Synopsis: This session will discuss the main determinants of overweight and obesity. The
session will also discuss the future of obesity and overweight in Asia and the Pacific given
socio-economic trends, such as urbanization and shift towards services.
Moderator: Dr. Guanghua Wan, Research Director, ADBI
Speakers:
 Prof. Rachel Novotny, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources,
University of Hawai’i
 Dr. Matthias Helble, Research Economist, ADBI
15:30 – 16:00 Group photo session & Coffee break
16:00 – 17:00 Session II (continued): Determinants of Overweight and Obesity in Asia
and the Pacific
Moderator: Dr. Guanghua Wan, Research Director, ADBI
Speaker:
 Prof. J. V. Meenakshi, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India (via
Skype)
18:00
Dinner
Day 2: 18 August 2016
09:30 – 11:00 Session III: Estimating the Economic Impact of Overweight and Obesity in
Asia and the Pacific
Synopsis: This session will focus on existing methods to estimate the economic impact of
obesity and overweight. The experts will present methods that capture the impact on the
economy by lower productivity and higher mortality, but also through an assessment of
financial costs for public and private health systems.
Moderator: Dr. Guanghua Wan, Research Director, ADBI
Speakers:
 Dr. Soewarta Kosen, Senior Policy Researcher and Coordinator at the Health
Economics and Policy Analysis Unit, National Institute of Health Research and
Development, Indonesia
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11:00 – 11:20 Coffee break
11:20 – 12:50 Session III (continued): Estimating the Economic Impact of Overweight
and Obesity in Asia and the Pacific
Moderator: Dr. Guanghua Wan, Research Director, ADBI
Speakers:
 Prof. Wankyo Chung, Hallym University, Korea
 Ms. Alia Luz, HITAP, Thailand
12:50 – 14:20 Lunch
14:20 – 16:00 Session IV: Policies to Curb the Rise in Obesity and Overweight
Synopsis: This session discuss possible develop policy recommendations to lower the
incidence of overweight based on market based mechanisms, such as taxes or incentives by
insurance schemes, or non-market mechanisms, such as education, as well as design
adaptation strategies for health system to improve their preparedness.
Moderator: Dr. Matthias Helble (Research Economist, ADBI)
Speakers:
 Dr. Montarat, Mahidol University, Thailand
 Dr. Eunyoung Ko, WPRO, FSM
 Dr. Eduardo Banzon, Senior Health Specialist, ADB, Manila
16:00 – 16:20 Coffee break
16:20 – 16:45 Summary and next steps
16:45 – 17:00 Concluding Remarks: Dr. Guanghua Wan, Research Director, ADBI
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