World Obesity Day, an internationally recognized event, moved to March 4 in 2020 from its previous date on October 11. It serves as an annual platform to raise awareness and advocate for practical solutions in addressing the global obesity crisis.
It is organized by the World Obesity Federation,[1] a non-profit body which is in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO)[2] and is a collaborating body on the Lancet Commission on Obesity.[3] World Obesity states that its aim is to "lead and drive global efforts to reduce, prevent and treat obesity."[4]
The first World Obesity Day took place in 2015. The second took place in 2016 and focused on childhood obesity, aligning with the WHO Commission report on Ending Childhood Obesity.[5]
World Obesity Day 2017 was themed "treat obesity now and avoid the consequences later." It called for investment in treatment services to support people affected by obesity, early intervention to improve the success of treatment, and prevention to reduce the need for treatment. [6]
On World Obesity Day 2023, WHO presented five key trends related to overweight and obesity in primary school-aged children in the European Region. These trends are based on data collected from the fifth round of the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI), conducted from 2018 to 2020, with participation from 33 countries and measurements taken from nearly 411,000 children.[7]