The Emergence of a Central Role for Persons with Obesity

In two decades of advocacy for persons living with obesity, we have found great satisfaction in seeing a central role emerge for the lived experience of these people. But it is especially inspiring to see it spread across many different countries with many different health systems. We saw this up close yesterday as a keynote speaker at the XXII Curso de Obesidad. It was sponsored by the Clínica de Obesidad y Trastornos de la Conducta Alimentaria from the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán in Mexico City.

Leading into our talk on two decades of patient advocacy, Dinorah Ramírez de Jesús presented a compelling perspective on her own lived experience. And how it empowers her to advocate for the relevance of the patient voice in clinical care for obesity.

This is radically different from what we observed two decades ago. Back then, robust patient advocacy just was not a factor.

Comparing Obesity to Bioterrorism

Historical anecdotes are abundant. In 2005, the U.S. Surgeon General told clinicians and researchers that having obesity was akin to “acts of bioterrorism.” No doubt, he meant well. But comparing persons coping with a complex chronic disease to terrorists was genuinely unhelpful.

It discredited the people whom public health and healthcare professionals should have been helping.

The Central Role

In 2025, after two decades of patient advocacy, we can see much change. Lived experience with obesity is much more visible, we have more options for obesity care, and the advent of better care seems to be bringing shifts in dietary behaviors and food market dynamics. We see pressure on health systems to deliver care at scale and explicit bias is fading as the medical understanding of obesity is growing.

Much of this is due to the central role persons living with obesity have taken in advocacy for better care and health policies. Dinorah Ramírez de Jesús is an exemplar of this. She is but one of many voices that are growing stronger and more confident.

Click here for our slides from the presentation yesterday. For an outstanding paper by Jamy Ard, Amber Huett-Garcia, and Michele Bildner describing the shifting dynamics of public health strategies for obesity care, click here.

The Central Role for Persons Living with Obesity, photograph of Ted Kyle presenting at XXII Curso de Obesidad by Emma Manzanera

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October 25, 2025