Lived Experience Voices: From a Nairobi Fitness Challenge to a Global Conversation on Obesity Care
Lived Experience Voices
From a Nairobi Fitness Challenge to a Global Conversation on Obesity Care
Oduor Kevin Otieno, lived experience advocate
Oduor reflects on his experience implementing a 90-day weight loss program and participating in the Lived Experience Summit at ICO 2026, and what can be achieved when people are supported to make changes.
Where it all began
When I started a 90-day weight management challenge in Nairobi, my goal was practical: create a structured, supportive environment where people living with overweight and obesity like me could work towards healthier lives through physical activity and dietary changes.
What I did not anticipate was how much the experience would shape my understanding of the wider obesity response.
Between September and December 2025, seven adults living with overweight and obesity took part in the programme at a gym in Roysambu, Nairobi. Participants followed a structured 90-minute daily exercise programme alongside a one-meal-a-day (OMAD) dietary approach, with their progress monitored over 90 days. By the end of the programme, all seven had completed the intervention and recorded weight reductions ranging from 6.8% to 11.3% of their baseline weight.
For me, this experience demonstrated the potential of structured interventions. It showed that when people have support, accountability and an environment that makes physical activity possible, meaningful change can happen.
But it also taught me something equally important: obesity is not simply a lifestyle choice.
People live within food environments, economic systems, social circumstances and health systems that shape the choices available to them. And for many people living with obesity, changing diet or becoming more physically active is not, by itself, enough.
From Nairobi to Mexico: a broader understanding of obesity
That message became even clearer when I attended the Obesity Lived Experience Global Summit ahead of the International Congress on Obesity in Mexico.
The Summit brought together people living with obesity, advocates, clinicians, researchers and policymakers from different parts of the world. Listening to people share their experiences of stigma, discrimination and difficulties accessing appropriate care reminded me that behind every statistic is a person navigating a complex reality.
Five priority actions for strengthening the global response to obesity
Dr Bruno Halpern, the new President of the World Obesity Federation, outlined five priority actions for strengthening the global response to obesity: recognising obesity as a chronic disease; regulating unhealthy food environments; integrating obesity prevention and treatment into primary healthcare; addressing weight stigma; and strengthening health systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Prevention is important - but treatment matters too
One point particularly resonated with me from Dr Bruno’s presentation: prevention and treatment should not be presented as competing approaches. We need both.
My work in Nairobi is one part of that response. Community-based physical activity, healthier dietary practices and supportive environments can help people prevent and manage obesity. But these interventions should sit alongside accessible, evidence-based obesity treatment for people who need it.
The Lived Experience Summit helped cement this understanding for me. If we tell people that the solution is simply to “eat less and exercise more”, we risk overlooking the biological, social and environmental complexity of obesity - and, more importantly, we risk blaming people when those approaches alone do not achieve the desired outcomes.
Treatment is therefore not a failure of prevention. It is a necessary component of comprehensive obesity care.
My Nairobi experience demonstrated the potential of a structured lifestyle intervention, but it was also a small programme. The findings point to the value of further research with larger samples and longer follow-up to understand sustainability, safety and other outcomes.
For me, this reinforces the importance of avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach to obesity care.
What I believe needs to change
My experience has convinced me that we need action across the whole system.
- For public health programmers, this means designing interventions that combine prevention, supportive environments, physical activity and nutrition with clear pathways to appropriate obesity care, while ensuring that programmes are informed by lived experience.
- For healthcare providers, it means recognising obesity as a chronic disease and providing respectful, person-centred care, including appropriate treatment options and referrals where needed. Every interaction should be free from stigma and blame.
- For policymakers, it means creating healthier food environments, strengthening obesity prevention and treatment within primary healthcare, and investing in health systems that make quality care accessible and affordable, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
- For society at large, it means challenging the idea that obesity is a moral failure or simply a matter of willpower. We need to replace judgement with understanding and make room for people living with obesity to be heard.
Moving from individual responsibility to collective action
My experience implementing the 90-day structured weight loss program showed me what can be achieved when people are supported to make changes. Participating at the Lived Experience Summit and ICO 2026 reminded me that our responsibility is bigger than that.
The next step is to build obesity responses that recognise the whole person - not just their weight - and bring prevention, supportive environments, lived experience and treatment together.
I believe we can create communities where healthier choices are easier, healthcare systems where people can access appropriate obesity care, and policies that address the environments contributing to obesity while protecting people from stigma and discrimination.
Obesity requires a comprehensive response. Our policies, programmes, healthcare systems and communities should be designed accordingly.
Blog by Oduor Kevin Otieno, lived experience advocate
Lived experience voices
Lived Experience Voices is World Obesity Federation's series sharing first-hand stories from people living with obesity around the world, in their own words. Have a story you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you - get in touch with our Communications team.
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