Obesity Care Week 2025 (#ObesityCareWeek) is here!
From March 3-7, 2025, Obesity Care Week is an annual public awareness effort to end weight bias. It promotes education for a better world for people living with obesity. Also, World Obesity Day is March 4, 2025.
Our Salud America! Latino health team at UT Health San Antonio is happy to serve as an Obesity Care Week Champion to help raise awareness.
“We need to continue to address the state of obesity care among Latinos and all people,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio and a leading health researcher.
Salud America! research has found that U.S. Latinos face health issues in many areas, from poverty and support to access to affordable housing and transit. This contributes to higher rates of obesity.
Latino adults have higher obesity rates than their white peers (47% and 37.9%), as do Latino children (20.7% and 11.7%). There are also geographic impacts. This, in turn, leads to higher burdens of diabetes, cancer, and other chronic health conditions.
Addressing the root causes, such as improving access to healthy food and more physical activity, can help address obesity.
Three Big Actions for Obesity Care Week
This year, the Obesity Care Week team urges you to take three actions:
1. Sign the Pledge to Commit to Care
Make a personal commitment to support better obesity care by signing the pledge at obesitycareweek.org.
By pledging, you’re joining a global effort to:
- Raise awareness about the challenges of obesity as a chronic disease.
- Advocate for improved policies that expand access to effective, evidence-based care.
- Treat everyone with respect and compassion, free from stigma or bias.
- Encourage meaningful conversations about the importance of health and well-being.
2. Take Action in the Action Center
This year, Obesity Care Week is providing the opportunity for people to encourage the new administration to commit to care by expanding comprehensive obesity coverage.
3. Share and Learn
Explore educational resources, toolkits, and shareable materials.
Use these to spark conversations about the importance of accessible, affordable and compassionate obesity care and help raise awareness in your community.
“Please join us in supporting this annual awareness week to help change the way we care about obesity, including Latinos and all people,” Ramirez said.
Obesity Care Week is led by Obesity Action Coalition, The Obesity Society, the STOP Obesity Alliance, the Obesity Medicine Association, and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
Sign-up for OCW Alerts or visit ObesityCareWeek.org. Use #ObesityCareWeek on social media.
Learn more about ways to reduce childhood obesity and reframe childhood obesity.
How Can You Create Healthy Environments for People in Your Community?
Healthy lifestyles are important for everyone.
Searching for ways to get physically active?
The CDC launched the Moving Matters campaign to engage people to be more physically active and have collaborated with Salud America! to spread the word.
At the community level, that starts with an environment that is conducive for physical activity.
How healthy is your community environment?
Explore you county with Salud America!’s Health Report Card and learn more about health-related issues in your community including housing, education, food, activity, and other socioeconomic factors.
Email your Report Card to community leaders. Share it on social media and use it to make the case to address childhood obesity and adult obesity!
Get your Health Equity Report Card!
Editor’s Note: Image credit to the UConn Rudd Center Media Library.
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