The World Obesity Federation declared the 11th of October as the World Obesity Day in order to raise public awareness of obesity.
October 11th – World Obesity Day
Obesity is a preventable condition caused by the excessive accumulation of fat in the body. There are many diseases associated with obesity such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, osteoarthritis, and stroke. According to WHO, more than 1.9 billion people around the world are overweight and 600 million of them are obese. Child and adolescent obesity are reaching alarming proportions in many countries , especially in modern societies. Obesity has many physical and psychological consequences and thus fighting against it is critical.
In order to easily estimate whether a person is over- or underweight, BMI was introduced. BMI stands for Body Mass Index and it is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg/m2). For adults, a BMI greater or equal to 25 is overweight and greater or equal to 30 is obese. For children, those numbers are slightly different.
The World Obesity Federation aims to support campaigns on obesity-related issues and promote the fight against obesity. Therefore, in 2015, it established the 11th of October as the World Obesity Day.
This year, the Day will encourage the efforts of WHO against childhood obesity.