Russia’s Ministry of Health, together with a government council, will formulate a set of measures to combat obesity in adults, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said.
“By March 2026, a set of measures to combat obesity in adults will be formed. I would like to emphasize that this comprehensive plan should be a successor to the comprehensive plan that was developed for children and adolescents,” Golikova said at the final meeting of the council on trusteeship in the social sphere (quote via TASS).
She recalled that monitoring of professional check-ups and medical examinations for university and college students began in July. Since then, more than 2.2 million students have received information on the issue.
Earlier, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko called obesity an “epidemic of the future.” “By 2030, every second adult in the world will be overweight if we do not change people’s mindset today,” he stated in September during a lecture for the educational marathon “Znaniye. Pervye”. According to the minister, obesity is not an aesthetic problem but a disease that needs to be treated, including with medication and surgery.
Russia ranks 78th out of 199 countries in the share of the adult population living with overweight and 94th in the number of adults with obesity, but the situation is worsening every year.