Science, Discovery, Tech and Environment · 5 March 2026
World Obesity Day 2026 highlights 8 billion reasons to change the obesity story
Exam-focused facts from the 5 March 2026 current affairs briefing.
Key facts
- World Obesity Day is observed annually on 4 March and led by the World Obesity Federation.
- The 2026 theme is '8 Billion Reasons to Change the Story'.
- World Obesity Day was first launched in 2015 and has been observed globally on 4 March since 2020.
- According to the World Obesity Atlas 2026, around 180 million children aged 5–19 were living with obesity in 2025 and the number could rise to about 227 million by 2040.
- National survey data show that 24 per cent of women and 22.9 per cent of men in India are overweight or obese.
- The World Obesity Atlas 2026 reports that nearly 14.9 million Indian children aged 5–9 years and more than 26.4 million aged 10–19 years were living with overweight or obesity in 2025.