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Turkey's new public health campaign to combat obesity by measuring citizens' Body Mass Index (BMI) in public spaces has been met with widespread criticism and ridicule, with many viewing it as invasive, stigmatizing and out of touch with the country's growing economic hardship.
Announced by Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu on Sunday, the "Learn Your Ideal Weight, Live Healthy" program aims to screen 10 million people by July 10. In public squares across all 81 provinces, health workers are stopping passersby to measure height, weight and BMI. Individuals with a BMI of 25 or higher are referred to state-run Family Health Centers and Healthy Life Centers, where they can receive free nutritional counseling and follow-up services.
Officials say the initiative is part of a "national fight against obesity." But critics say the government is targeting individuals while ignoring broader causes of unhealthy living -- including soaring food prices, stagnant wages and limited access to affordable nutrition.
Online reactions were swift and biting, with one X user saying that the health minister should first identify the "hungry pensioners and minimum wage earners wandering the streets" and deal with the overweight later. She also pointed to the irony that some of the health workers conducting the BMI checks looked more overweight than those being measured.
Psychiatrist and academic Gökben Hızlı Sayar joined in the criticism, saying in a tweet: "I got caught in a fat checkpoint in Üsküdar Square. Luckily, they scolded me a little and let me go. Like drivers warning of speed traps, I tipped off three other chubby people heading that way. Solidarity, my fellow fat comrades!"
Health Minister Memişoğlu himself was not spared. After publicly participating in the BMI measurement and finding his own results were above normal, he joked, "Which dietitian should I go to?" In a follow-up post on Thursday, he added, "Turns out I'm a little over. It's up to me now, I'll be walking every day."
Turkey has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe, with the World Health Organization reporting that 32 percent of adults were obese as of 2023.
Health experts link the rise in obesity to both lifestyle factors and Turkey's worsening economic conditions, as soaring food prices and wage stagnation limit healthy options.
Turkey has experienced double digit inflation since 2019, with the annual rate peaking at 85.5 percent in October 2022. It has declined over the years and currently stands at around 38 percent, making it increasingly difficult for the Turks to meet even their basic needs for food and rent.
The Health Ministry has not explained how consent will be obtained during public screenings or how participants' personal health data will be handled and protected.