PRESS RELEASE
February 16, 2026
World Obesity Day Europe takes place on March 4
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World Obesity Day Europe, held each year to raise awareness of Europe’s growing obesity epidemic and the need for better prevention and treatment, will take place on Wednesday, March 4.
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 will participate to create greater awareness and understanding of obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease.
Several associated patient organisations, including those for cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, liver disease, and chronic kidney disease (CKD), will also be taking part to draw attention to obesity as a gateway to those diseases, as well as at least 13 types of cancer.
According to the World Health Organization, obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century. It is a key risk factor for many non- communicable diseases (NCDs). WHO reports 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 1. Recent estimates suggest that overweight and obesity are the fourth most common risk factor for Non-Communicable Diseases (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 1.
The World Obesity Atlas 2025, published by the World Obesity Federation, projects that by 2030, approximately 231 million men and 198 million women in the WHO European Region will be living with high BMI (overweight or obesity combined) 2. This represents 65% of men and 52% of women in the Region 2.
Worldwide, 1.6 million premature deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were attributable to high body mass index in 2021 2.
In particular, ECPO and its member organisations will be drawing attention to the impact of obesity on society and the economy, the importance of 360-degree long-term treatment, and the huge benefits to be gained from prevention and care.
Within the umbrella theme, Addressing Obesity Together, participants will organise events ranging from training workshops for patients and healthcare professionals to free health check-ups, healthy eating advice, and open days at hospitals and treatment centres.
“In line with a global World Obesity Day theme of 8 Billion Reasons To Act on Obesity, our multidisciplinary group of stakeholders, including patient leaders and advocates across the community of European health professionals, are working to lead policy changes at regional, national and local levels to build the robust support systems for the future,” says ECPO President Diana Castillo.
Among international initiatives taking place in connection with World Obesity Day Europe, there will be a discussion in the European Parliament in Brussels titled “Addressing Obesity as a Gateway Disease: Why Europe Must Act Now.” It is being organised on March 4 by the Parliamentary Group MEPs for Action on Obesity.
On March 3 and 4, the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) will be holding an Obesity Masterclass in Vienna for Primary Care Practitioners. It is being held in conjunction with the Austrian Obesity Association (OAG), and Primary Care Diabetes Europe (PCDE).
ECPO will represent the patient community at both events Details of the numerous World Obesity Day Europe events will be widely publicised on social media via @ObesityDayEU and #WODEurope. More information is available on the World Obesity Day Europe website: https://woday.eu/.
Download the Press Release PDF
Note to editors:
The ECPO image bank of photographs continues to be expanded and updated in collaboration with more than 30 patient organisations across European countries.
The image bank has been created to help change people’s attitudes towards overweight and obesity. It consists of more than 700 professionally taken photographs to support editors in selecting less stigmatising images for online use and in newspapers and magazines. https://ecpomedia.org/
For further information, please contact Tim Edgar (tim@eurobesity.org) or Vicki Mooney (vicki@eurobesity.org) Tel: +34 687391566 .
For further information on World Obesity Day Europe, please see https://woday.eu/; and on ECPO https://eurobesity.org/
The following hashtags are used on social media: #WODEurope, #WorldObesityDay, and #AddressingObesityTogether.
1 WHO Regional Office for Europe. (2022). WHO European Regional Obesity Report 2022. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe. Available at: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289057738
2 World Obesity Federation. (2025). World Obesity Atlas 2025: Overweight, obesity and non- communicable diseases. London: World Obesity Federation. Available at: https://data.worldobesity.org/publications/world-obesity-atlas-2025-v7.pdf