RIO DE JANEIRO – Health officials in Rio de Janeiro hosted a special health fair on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, to raise awareness about obesity as part of a national effort to expand access to comprehensive obesity treatment through the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). The event, held by the Instituto Estadual de Diabetes e Endocrinologia Luiz Capriglione (IEDE), comes as global health organizations increasingly recognize obesity as a complex chronic disease requiring multifaceted care.
The fair offered free health assessments, including body composition analysis and liver elastography exams, alongside educational workshops and guided physical activities. These services aimed to provide individuals with a better understanding of their health status and available resources.
The initiative supports the “Acesso Já” campaign, which advocates for broader access to complete obesity care within the SUS. Karen de Marca, Vice President of the Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (SBEM) and Technical Director of IEDE, emphasized that addressing obesity is a critical public health priority, extending far beyond cosmetic concerns.
“We have March as the month of obesity awareness, it’s the purple month. We need to eliminate the stigma of obesity and provide guidance on prevention, treatment, and the care involved for a person with obesity. Obesity is related to more than 200 types of diseases, the main ones being type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, acute myocardial infarction, fatty liver disease, and even the risk of cancer is greatly increased due to obesity. For treatment, it is very important to have a multidisciplinary team.”
Experts at IEDE highlighted the importance of integrating mental health care into obesity treatment, particularly for individuals with eating disorders. Silvia Regina de Freitas, a psychiatrist and coordinator of IEDE’s obesity and eating disorder team, noted that addressing underlying psychological factors is crucial for successful long-term outcomes.
“Binge eating disorder, among eating disorders, has a very high prevalence in the obese population. We need to be attentive, because if we don’t treat it from a psychiatric point of view, this patient with obesity and with this eating disorder will not succeed in the treatment of obesity.”
Early intervention is as well a key focus, with pediatric endocrinologist Latife Salomão stressing the need to combat obesity from childhood. She explained that the longer obesity persists, the more challenging it becomes to manage.
“Prevention is the most important thing. What we always say is that adult obesity comes from childhood. 15% of children up to two years ancient who are obese will develop into obese adults, with 5 years of age, 20%, and it keeps increasing. By 10 years old, if they arrive with obesity, the chance is 80%, that they will become an obese adult.”
Recent data from the World Obesity Atlas reveals the scale of the problem in Brazil, with over 6 million children aged 5-9 years and 16.5 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 years classified as overweight or obese. These figures underscore the urgent need for comprehensive prevention and treatment strategies to address the growing obesity epidemic and its associated health risks.
