Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and chronic obstructive respiratory diseases, are the leading causes of death and disability around the world. NCDs are already the major cause of death in lower-middle and upper-middle income countries, and are also projected to become the leading cause of death in low-income countries by 2030. The major NCDs are largely preventable through interventions that tackle their main shared modifiable risk factors– tobacco use, alcohol misuse, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diet. These risk factors are themselves heavily influenced by a range of societal and global determinants– like rapid globalization, unplanned urbanization, and global trade and agricultural policies – that compromise people’s ability to make healthy choices. There is now recognition at the global level that tackling NCDs requires addressing the “causes of the causes” through intersectoral action since several of the determinants of the epidemic lie outside of the exclusive jurisdictions of the health sector. While the need for effective whole-of-government mechanisms and overall intersectoral action for NCD prevention is considerable – it was clearly underlined as a priority at the United Nations High-level Meeting on NCDs in September 2011 - there is still relatively little empirical evidence about how best to engage non-health sectors in the fight against NCDs. The objectives of this session are 1) To provide country-level examples of intersectoral action for increasing physical activity levels as part of the fight to reduce the burden of NCDs; 2) To identify and discuss the main factors that enable and constrain intersectoral action for promoting physical activity at the population level, with a particular emphasis on urban planning and school-based policies, and 3) To offer a synthesis of the main lessons learned and good practices for overcoming the challenges of intersectoral action for NCD prevention in general. This session is conceived as several dialogues between selected NCD experts and representatives from non-health sectors. It is envisaged that a summary document will be developed to guide the future development of intersectoral initiatives for NCD prevention. The session will feature three presentations, followed by a 40-minute open discussion period.