It’s World Obesity Day (WOD), as declared by the World Obesity Federation (WOF). The annual observance is designed to raise awareness of the global obesity epidemic and press governments to take action, this year with a special emphasis on the childhood obesity crisis.
The theme of World Obesity Day 2016 takes its cue from the recently-released World Health Organization (WHO) Commission’s Report on Ending Childhood Obesity. The mission statement at the WOF website says:
Child and adolescent obesity has risen rapidly around the world, with few countries taking action against this damaging health issue which affects later health, educational attainment and quality of life.
The WOF says it’s a crisis and something needs to be done now to avoid a next generation of fat, unhealthy adults. The 2016 WOD website has some really interesting infographics showing how various countries around the world are doing in the fight against fat:
The infographic for the U.S. is similar in many respects, but predicts a whopping
16.6 overweight or obese kids there by 2025.
What can we do to help fight the fat?
WOF suggests the following:
- Disseminating World Obesity Day messages to your networks.
- Calling on your government to take urgent action to tackle childhood obesity.
- Raising awareness in your workplace and community.
- Signing up to receive World Obesity Day alerts and advocacy packs.
- Sign our Thunderclap! newsletter
Or just talk it up. Obesity, especially among our kids, is a real and frightening situation. And we can all advocate for change and provide a good example for others by simply choosing healthy foods.
WHO has an additional idea…
The World Health Organization is also calling, today, on governments around the world to slap a fat tax on Sugary beverages. WHO says increased prices because of the tax will get people to choose lower-sugar, cheaper beverages. I say, if people continue to pay ridiculous prices for gasoline and drive their cars, they are unlikely to change their beverage habits, just because of increased costs. In fact, I think that, because we’re so hard wired to eat sweets, we may move funds from the healthy food column of our personal budgets to the Sugary food column, to cover the extra cost.
~ Maggie J.