World Obesity Day 4 March 2022
On 4 March 2022, the global obesity community came together to mark World Obesity Day (WOD) with a simple message that ‘Everybody Needs to Act’ to address obesity and its causes.
WOD 2022 sought to build on the momentum of 2021’s ‘Every Body Needs Everybody’ campaign and cement 4 March as a global day of action. It aimed to make a strength of regional differences, empowering members and building a sense of solidarity.
The 2022 campaign was highly successful, engaging and mobilising members, civil society organisations, and individuals in action in over 65 countries around the world, and established World Obesity Day as a major date in the global obesity calendar.
A record year!
2022 was a record year for regional campaign contributions:
- 150+ notices on the WOD website of events, stories, publications and personal actions
- 250+ enquiries and contributions from over 65 countries
- 100% of survey respondents would like to be involved with the 2023 campaign
Highlights
The following are some of the highlights of the 2022 campaign:
Steps to progress global advocacy:
- Special policy event convening WHO and key member states
- Letter to global health leaders to support global action on obesity
We released our fourth Atlas report providing an up-to-date look at obesity globally including country report cards. The report received 55,27m press coverage circulation across five continents and 12 countries.
Major policy and advocacy events took place in several countries.
These included:
Europe's MEP Interest Group on Obesity and Health System Resilience launched a Declaration for National Action Plans on Obesity exploring how to support EU Member States in evidencebased policy interventions.
Samrat Endocrine Institute of Obesity, Diabetes & Thyroid, Aurangabad, held lectures attended by over 1,300 school students, and organised a cycle rally in the region.
Obesidade Brasil ran a major campaign on the Sao Paolo metro with the Global Obesity Patient Alliance (GOPA). Posters were displayed in stations and a video ran on all subway cars. The Painel Brasileiro da Obesidade organised a webinar addressing obesity care and sharing case studies, while the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center of Rondonopolis held a community education event.
Launched a National Obesity Strategy, outlining a 10-year framework for action to prevent, manage and treat obesity, resulting in over 100 articles and 131 radio clips.
1,000 health professionals signed a position statement calling for immediate national action to address obesity. The declaration was presented at a hybrid forum in the National Academy of Medicine in Mexico (ANMM) in the presence of health authorities and government actors including the Secretary of Health.
The Obesity Prevention and Control Section of the Chinese Nutrition Society held its first World Obesity Day events, including a webinar with 20,000 attendees. Xinhua News Agency coverage attracted more than 1.2 million views.
The Italian Parliamentary Intergroup on Obesity and Diabetes, together with IO-NET Italian Obesity Network, the Italian Obesity Society and Open Italy organised a press conference at Palazzo Madama, the seat of the Italian Senate, to address the crisis.
Jesus Javier Diaz - President of the National Association for Obese People and for the Treatment of Obesity (ASEPO) in Spain - called on media, medical and governmental groups to act.
The UK saw the launch of ‘All About Obesity’ - a new organisation to educate, inform, support and advocate for those living with obesity. The Royal College of Physicians called for a National Obesity Prescription for England, releasing a powerful documentary exploring the impact and prevalence of obesity in the country.
The Academy of Nutrition, Dietetic and Obesity Prevention (ANDOP) held a successful annual conference, attended by representatives of the Ministry of Health, national representatives of the World Health Organization, and more than 200 experts.
Rotary District 7030 launched '7030 Moves for COP' as part of their Childhood Obesity Program (COP). Over the course of a month, members, clubs, and the wider community were encouraged to take part in physical activity challenges.
The Obesity Society of Nigeria, together with the Medical Women's Association of Nigeria, held a webinar and a workout activity in Ebonyi state. Separately, students on the Nigerian Obesity Cohort Program pre-qualification pathway to SCOPE created a video series.
Community activities around the world included a social media testimony campaign from GOPA; Weight Issues Network (WIN) Australia's first WOD activities; and ECPO events in Europe. 11 people living with obesity submitted personal stories to the website.
WOD 2022 Impact Highlights:
WOD 2022 put obesity on the global agenda.
Awareness and behaviours have changed, and actions taken are already starting to impact millions of lives.
World Obesity Day 2023 takes place on 4 March 2023
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