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In a bold and slightly strange step, Turkey has launched an ambitious nationwide health campaign aimed at tackling the nation's increasing obesity epidemic, mobilising teams of doctors to give on-the-spot weight and body mass index (BMI) readings to citizens in public places. The campaign, which launched on May 10, aims to reach 10 million and will be in force until July 10 as part of a larger effort to encourage healthier lifestyles and reduce increasing rates of weight-related disease.
Their Mission
Launched with all the flair of a national festival, the initiative sees health workers stationed across the country’s 81 provinces, armed with scales, tape measures, and unwavering commitment. Their mission? To weigh and measure 10 million citizens by July 10. That is right—whether you are shopping, catching a bus, or headed to cheer on your favourite football team, your BMI might just be the next thing getting checked.
The campaign’s tagline, “Know your weight, live healthy,” might sound benign, but the operation is anything but passive. With a very blunt message, Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu recently declared that half the country is overweight. “Being overweight means being sick,” he warned, linking excess weight to a future of joint troubles and heart disease.
It is a sobering thought, but it is not without irony.
When the minister himself stepped on the scales during a conference in Ankara, he was politely informed he was not exactly within the ‘ideal’ bracket either. To his credit, he took it on the chin, vowing to start daily walks and asking, “Which dietitian should I go to?”
Under the system, anyone with a BMI over 25 is gently guided towards Family Health Centres or Healthy Life Centres, where they can get free advice on nutrition and wellness. Think of it as a state-sponsored intervention with less yelling.
Still, this is not just about numbers and charts. It is a cultural shift in motion, one that is turning food-loving Turkey into a nation of health-conscious steppers. Critics might call it intrusive, but others see it as a necessary wake-up call.
