On the occasion of World Obesity Days, from March 4 to 6, the National Collective of Obese Associations launched a campaign to fight against the prejudices of which patients are victims and to have it recognized as a chronic illness.
- In France, 8.5 million people are obese.
- To raise public awareness of obesity and associated fatphobia, the National Collective of Obese Associations has launched an advertising campaign, the slogan of which is “What weighs on me the most is the weight of your words “.
- In another campaign, he insists on the fact that “obesity is not a choice” and that it must be recognized as a chronic disease to allow patients to benefit from appropriate care.
If you walk through the streets of Paris or Île-de-France, you risk seeing posters of an advertising campaign, the slogan of which is “What weighs me the most is the weight of your words” , plastered on the walls, on the occasion of World Obesity Days from March 4 to 6. The goal of National Collective of Obese Associations (CNAO) with this operation? Raise awareness among the general public about obesity and the associated fatphobia and ultimately change society’s outlook towards more kindness and inclusion. As a reminder, obesity, which increases the risk of diabetes, cancer or cardiovascular disease, affects more than 8.5 million French people. According to WHO forecasts, its prevalence in France could reach 29% by 2030.
Obesity: “The illness that isolates me and prevents me from seeking treatment is fatphobia”
This campaign “poignantly calls out this form of trivialized discrimination, which is today the most tolerated discrimination in the world”, declares Anne-Sophie Joly, President of the CNAO. Because yes, due to the many prejudices about the pathology, obese people are stigmatized. “What weighs me down the most are the insults on social networks, the comments at school, on the bus or in the mouths of those close to me. Obesity is an illness. However, the evil that isolates me and prevents me from seeking treatment, it’s fatphobia. More than my weight, the heaviest thing for me is the weight of your words.” can we read on one of the campaign posters.
Obesity, a stigmatized disease which is not yet fully recognized in France
The National Collective of Obese Associations did not stop there. In another video campaign, the main message of which is “obesity is not a choice”, he wants to highlight the recognition of obesity as a disease, because this is not the case in our society. Result: patients do not benefit from real, necessary and appropriate care. “Health professionals, doctors and paramedics, must be trained from their initial training on the chronic pathology of obesity and its multiple pathologies. Just as they must be listed on Santé.fr, the directory of accessibility, to guarantee equality of care and combat the discrimination to which people suffering from obesity are victims today.”