Voices of lived experience bring obesity to the UNGA stage
At this year’s United Nations General Assembly, the World Obesity Federation’s lived experience delegation helped bring the reality of obesity into global health discussions, not as a matter of willpower, but as a chronic disease that demands political will and equitable action.
Anchoring discussions in lived experience, the advocates reframed obesity as a structural and social equity issue, calling for person-centred care and multisectoral interventions that put people, not blame, at the heart of response.
Shaping obesity discussions
Moderating the Global Obesity Forum, Ogweno Stephen (Kenya) reminded the audience: “Tackling obesity is not a task for tomorrow. This has to happen today, and it’s our responsibility here in the room to ensure that this action starts today.”
From the Caribbean, Dr Karen Sealey (Trinidad and Tobago) spoke to the power of inclusion: “If we want to see change on obesity and NCDs, we have to bring people with lived experience to the table to tell it as it is.”
Alongside them, Amber Huett-Garcia (United States), Ian Patton (Canada), Sarah Le Brocq (United Kingdom), and Dr Kim Yoohyun (South Korea) contributed to high-level sessions across UNGA week, from the Science Summit to the Health and Global Policy Institute and Economist Impact events, ensuring that lived experience shaped the dialogue on obesity, NCDs, and mental health.
Lived experience is evidence
By bringing lived experience directly into UNGA spaces, these advocates helped shift how obesity is discussed, from a lifestyle issue to a shared global challenge that demands urgent political action.
Their interventions reminded world leaders that lived experience is not anecdotal; it is evidence - and the foundation for policies that recognise obesity as a disease, integrate prevention and treatment, and dismantle stigma across health systems.
"Just as HIV activism changed the course of that epidemic, centering lived experience can change the course of obesity. Silence is dangerous — we must name obesity without shame and act with urgency" Yvette Raphael, South Africa
This advocacy formed part of World Obesity’s For Half of Humanity: Four Billion Reasons We Need Action on Obesity campaign, turning lived experience into evidence, and evidence into action for a fairer, healthier future.
For half of humanity
Find out how you can join the call for urgent, united action on obesity. Explore resources, key messages, and advocacy tools in our For Half of Humanity campaign toolkit - and help ensure no one is left behind.
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