Turkey weighing citizens in public to motivate weight loss

Turkey is tipping the scales in its war on obesity.

The country has launched a nationwide campaign to measure citizens’ weight in public spaces to combat its rising obesity rates — a move critics argue amounts to public fat shaming and government overreach. 

The initiative, called “Learn Your Ideal Weight, Live Healthy” campaign, will see around 10 million people assessed between May 10 and July 10. If they are deemed overweight, they will be directed to health centers to receive nutritional counseling and monitoring by dietitians, according to Turkish Minute.

The controversial move aims to raise awareness about chronic weight dangers and to promote healthier lifestyles.

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Turkish Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu introduced the initiative earlier this month, stating that health personnel would take measurements in public areas across all 81 provinces, Turkish media reported. 

Various images posted to social media by Turkey’s health ministry show health officials taking people’s height measurements before guiding them onto weighing scales at so-called check points in public spaces.

Individuals have their body weight and height measured to calculate their body mass index (BMI), a simple calculation used to assess whether a person has a healthy body weight for their height.

If someone has a BMI of 25 or higher, they will be referred to the health centers.

The initiative has drawn backlash, with critics slamming it as invasive, stigmatizing and essentially amounting to fat shaming in public. Other detractors argue that the government is not addressing broader contributing factors such as soaring food prices, stagnant wages and limited access to affordable nutrition.

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Gökben Hızlı Sayar, a Turkish psychiatrist and academic, likened the stations to fat check points and said she was forced to get measured. 

“I got caught in a fat car showdown in Üsküdar Square, she wrote on X last week. “Luckily, they reprimanded me a little and let me go. When I saw the radar, I warned 3 fat people who were going that way to flash their headlights at each other. Today is the day of unity, my fat brothers.”

The health minister, however, said the goal is to inform the public and make them healthier.

In an effort to lead by example, Memişoğlu himself was measured and revealed that he is over the limit, although it wasn’t clear by how much.

“Which dietitian should I go to?” he humorously said to reporters before later adding, “turns out I’m a little over. It’s up to me now, I’ll be walking every day,” Turkish Minute reported. 

Memişoğlu also posted video of himself walking, writing, “it’s time to get down to business, we’ll walk every day.”

Turkey has a population of around 85 million people and around 32.1% are considered obese, according to the World Health Organization. Anyone over a BMI of 30 is considered obese. 

That rate is still lower than in the United States, where the most recent studies by the CDC show obesity among adults at 40.3%.

Experts link the rate in Turkey to rising fast-food consumption, economic barriers to healthy food and urbanization reducing physical activity levels, according to Turkey Today.