Obesity organisations, healthcare providers, and people living with obesity across Europe are preparing
for World Obesity Day, which takes place on Monday, March 4.
The European edition of the global event – World Obesity Day Europe – is held annually to draw attention
to Europe’s growing obesity epidemic and the need for better prevention and treatment.
Within the umbrella theme, Addressing Obesity Together, participants organise events ranging from free
health check-ups and healthy eating advice to holding virtual open days at hospitals and treatment
centres. Information and training workshops are also held for patients and healthcare professionals.
The campaign, part of the global World Obesity Day, is an initiative of the European Coalition for People
Living with Obesity (ECPO). People from all walks of life are being encouraged to participate in creating
greater awareness and opening the conversation around obesity.
The World Obesity Atlas 2022, published by the World Obesity Federation, predicts that one billion
people globally, including 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men, will be living with obesity by 2030.
Worldwide, at least 2.8 million people die each year because of overweight or obesity.
According to the World Health Organization, obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of the
21st century and is one of the key risk factors for many non-communicable diseases (NCDs). WHO says
that overweight and obesity affect almost 60% of adults and nearly one in three children (29% of boys
and 27% of girls) in the WHO European Region. Also, recent estimates suggest that overweight and
obesity is the fourth most common risk factor for NCDs in the Region, after high blood pressure, dietary
risks and tobacco. It is also the leading risk factor for disability, causing 7% of total years lived with
disability.
In particular, ECPO would like to draw attention to the impact that obesity has on society and the
economy and the huge benefits to be gained from prevention and treatment.
Among the European initiatives being held to coincide with World Obesity Day will be a special World
Obesity Day edition of the ECPO Patient Lounge. A panel of distinguished guests will talk about the
importance of addressing obesity together, and there will be reports from patient associations from
around Europe.
Numerous World Obesity Day Europe events will also take place at national and local levels and will be
publicised extensively on social media @ObesityDayEU and #WODEurope on X (Twitter) and other
platforms.
The ECPO image bank of photographs continues to be expanded and updated in collaboration with 27
organisations across over 30 countries. The image bank has been created to help change people’s
attitudes to overweight and obesity. It consists of more than 600 professionally taken photographs to
support editors in selecting less stigmatising images for use in newspapers and magazines.
Further details on World Obesity Day and where to find more information on obesity and obesity
prevention and treatment are available on the World Obesity Day Europe website: www.woday.eu.
The following hashtags are used on social media: #WODEurope, #WorldObesityDay, and
#AddressingObesityTogether.
Download the Press Release
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For further information, please contact Mario Silva ([email protected]) or Vicki Mooney at ECPO
([email protected]) Tel: +34 687391566
For further information on World Obesity Day Europe, please see https://woday.eu/; and on ECPO