Social media tools

Using Twitter to escalate the impact of #ObesityDayEurope

With over 500 million tweets a day and 330 million monthly active users, Twitter is a simple yet powerful tool to communicate. It has a great potential to help you reach new and broader audiences, and build your network of online supporters.

Twitter allows engagement and interaction with a very wide range of people including policymakers, healthcare professionals, patients and the general public. This is essential to encourage people and organisations to take action and share important information.

Using the hashtag #ObesityDayEurope, you can extend support for your advocacy work and WOD campaign.

Sample Tweets for World Obesity Day

The following are examples of Tweets you may wish to use translate or adapt as part of your existing social media activities or as a stand-alone campaign specifically to take advantage of World Obesity Day in your region. The Tweets can be used widely or targeted to a specific organisation if you find the message especially appropriate. In each case we recommend using the #ObesityDayEurope hashtag as it makes each tweet searchable and will help better determine the response.

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn posts, in particular, can help to draw attention to the World Obesity Day Europe website

This Saturday is World Obesity Day<br />
Please join us addressing obesity together across Europe to encourage and facilitate opportunities for stakeholders to work together to collectively educate, inform and change the narrative around #obesity

Today is World Obesity Day Let's stop the stigma and instead look at how we can best address obesity together!

Did you know? Between 2010 and 2016 an additional 15 million people globally developed obesity

According to the WHO, the prevalence of obesity in many European countries has tripled since the 1980s.

Preventing and treating obesity tackles #NCDs, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases

EU Member States and Chief Medical Officers can advance coordination of obesity management in Europe - to benefit citizens, society and the economy

Obesity shortens life expectancy by an equivalent amount to smoking

Obesity is a complex chronic disease influenced by multiple genetic, environmental, physiological and psychological factors

GPs should be trained and encouraged to improve weight management discussions with their patients

Supportive discussions from healthcare professionals can significantly help patients to address the challenges of weight management

In EU countries up to 70% of adults have unhealthy excess weight. Obesity is treatable

Recognition that obesity is a chronic disease by health systems can shift thinking around access to care. Learn, educate and advocate

Obesity management is multidisciplinary by nature and requires team thinking. Many people who would benefit from medical care for obesity are not receiving it.

Preventing and managing obesity is important across the entire life course.

Weight loss maintenance is hard. Our biology and genetic inheritance means the body fights back to regain lost weight.

Why we can't wait. It takes six or seven years from the time a person begins struggling with weight management until a first conversation about obesity with a health professional.

You are not alone. If trends continue more than 50% of European will have obesity by 2030.

Obesity is a gateway disease. It causes a range of chronic diseases including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some cancers. Between 7% and 41% of some cancers are attributable to unhealthy excess weight.

Obesity is a chronic disease. It requires active care and management

If our governments address and treat obesity, national health systems could prevent future health challenges from related and NCDS.

EASO and ECO believe that obesity must be recognised as a gateway to many other diseases.

Ignoring the reality of obesity as a disease contributes to stigma shame, stress, and worsening health.

Obesity plays a central role in a person's development of a number of risk factors and chronic diseases.

Lack of education and training for physicians and other healthcare professionals in medical education is a major barrier to effective treatment and care.

Tomorrow is World Obesity Day Let's stop the stigma and instead look at how we can best address obesity together!

Today is World Obesity Day Please join us addressing Obesity Together Across Europe to encourage and facilitate opportunities for stakeholders to work together to collectively educate, inform and change the narrative around #obesity

Did you know? Our genes set the stage for obesity and our environments are principal actors. Many factors and systems interact to trigger obesity in susceptible individuals - food systems, health and social systems, transport systems, systems that drive physical activity.

Reducing obesity stigma is a vital step to successful treatment

Obesity can lead to other #NCDs, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases

One in five Europeans take no action to manage their weight

Bariatric surgery achieves greater and more sustained weight loss for patients with severe obesity

Effective prevention and management of obesity requires an integrated approach, involving all sectors of society

Properly trained healthcare professionals can make a huge difference in addressing the weight management needs and concerns of patients

Have you discussed with your GP how your weight is affecting you medically, physically and emotionally?

Providing access to obesity care can result in considerable healthcare cost savings for national health systems - treating obesity helps prevent other NCDs

Ignoring the reality of obesity as a chronic disease contributes to stigma, shame, stress and worsening health

Obesity can be managed with appropriate support. Accessing treatment can help you take steps toward a healthier future.

Obesity management is about health, not physical appearance.

It is crucial that clinicians understand the biological basis of obesity. We supportthe EASO call for quality training in obesity and clinical management for physicians and healthcare providers.

Why we can't wait. Almost 50% of people living with obesity initiate a conversation with a health professional themselves. The primary reason clinicians initiate a conversation about weight management is due to follow-on complications from obesity.

Obesity is a gateway disease. It causes a range of chronic diseases including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some cancers. In the European region, about 80% of type 2 diabetes is attributable to unhealthy excess weight

Receiving care and treatment for obesity can improve longevity.

Health is a partnership between clinician and patient. If you have a chronic disease, you deserve multidisciplinary care

No country - in Europe or globally - has reversed the upward trend in obesity rates.

Access to obesity care can result in considerable healthcare cost savings.

Obesity management is multidisciplinary by nature National obesity strategies need to incorporate medical specialisation in obesity

Many citizens across Europe Who could benefit from medical care for obesity are not receiving it.

Education and training in obesity science and clinical management is crucial to improving HP understanding of obesity treatment and care.

Today marks World Obesity Day, an occasion when we should all draw attention to the need to address obesity together

Obesity is the fifth leading cause of death worldwide

Did you know? Causes of obesity range from genetic and endocrine conditions to environmental factors - including stress, diet, medication, and our increasingly sedentary working patterns.

By 2030, it is predicted that over half the people of Europe will have obesity

75% of Europeans living with obesity do not recognise that they have obesity

Up to 75% of citizens in some EU countries are overweight

Many professional associations recognise obesity as a health challenge requiring chronic disease management

Greater medical specialisation in obesity would lead to better care and support for patients

Counselling and advice from healthcare professionals can have a positive effect on patient action regarding weight management

According to the WHO, prevalence of obesity in many European countries has tripled since the 1980s

Language matters. Stigma can impact health. We have adopted person-first language use for some chronic diseases, but not obesity

In most European countries, national health policies don't classify obesity as a disease. We can help seek care and support, connect with our community

Most chronic diseases are not stigmatized in the press. We applaud news outlets that avoid judgemental language and stigmatizing images and text when reporting on obesity.

Medical care is a partnership. Most people with obesity assume complete responsibility for weight loss and weight maintenance. Their clinicians may not fully understand the complexity of weight management.

Let's have better conversations in obesity management. International research points to major misunderstanding between people with obesity, who are very concerned about the impact of obesity on their health, and health providers, who may not believe people with obesity are motivated to lose weight.

Has your HCP initiated a conversation about weight and health in a respectful way? Research shows that people living with obesity are motivated to lose weight.

Obesity is a gateway disease. It causes a range of chronic diseases including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some cancers. 23% of ischaemic heart disease is attributable to overweight and obesity.

Obesity is treatable. Treating your obesity can help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease later in life.

Recognition of obesity as a complex multifactorial chronic disease Will result in greater access to comprehensive weight management care and treatment.

People living with obesity acknowledge the importance of prevention. But we need access to effective treatment for the millions of Europeans living with obesity today.

We need recognition of obesity as a complex medically treatable disease, not a lifestyle choice. Recognising that obesity is a chronic disease can shift thinking around access to obesity care.

Causes of obesity include genetic and endocrine conditions as well as environmental factors like stress, medication, nutrition, and our increasingly sedentary working patterns.

Healthcare professionals can make a difference by becoming more knowledgeable about obesity and addressing the concerns of people living with obesity.

Greater medical specialisation in obesity would lead to better care and support for people living with obesity.

Making the most out of Facebook interaction

Facebook is often considered a more personal and friendly way to share information with people important to you. It allows you to post your pictures, videos and what you have been up to, as well as to ask questions and seek public opinion. You can control how much information you want to share with whom. It is helpful if you try to encourage your Facebook followers to like and share the information they find.

Facebook Content

As Facebook permits longer posts than Twitter, there is an opportunity for a more extensive explanation in posts and as part of the About section. It is important to remember however, that while sharing more information can be useful, people still tend to make note of posts that really grab their attention, so keep it brief. Links, graphics and other visuals are always helpful to attract attention.

Facebook Traction

Facebook applies more complex processes than Twitter when deciding what appears on other users’ news feeds. Just because something is posted, doesn’t necessarily mean it will be viewable by everyone who likes your page. For this reason, it is important to keep an eye on your page insights in order to determine the best time of day to post, and to identify the types of posts which tend to get the most interaction. Typically these will be posts with graphics or the newest and particularly useful information so it is important to post information regularly.

Consistency will help to engage your followers but you can also target particular regions or groups of people and organisations for different posts.