4th March 2024 is our launch day, and nothing more timely than doing it on World Obesity day!
Obesity is a disease caused by a variety of factors, including biology, mental health, genetic risk, environment, healthcare access, and access to ultra-processed food. It is about more than weight or "willpower', it has complex roots.
We need to change the perception of obesity from ME to WE. The roots of obesity are systemic, society-wide problems, and it requires a collective response.
The mission of World Obesity Day, convened by the World Obesity Federation in collaboration with global partners, is:
1. To increase awareness that obesity is a disease
We are raising awareness and improving understanding of its root causes and the actions needed to address them.
2. Encourage advocacy
Changing the way obesity is addressed across society and encouraging people to become advocates, standing up and calling for change.
3. Improve policies
Creating a healthy environment that prioritises obesity as a health issue, working to change policy to build the right support systems for the future.
4. Share experiences
With the motto 'Stronger together', they are creating platforms for people to share experiences, inspiring and uniting a global community to work towards our common goal.
This World Obesity Day aims to trigger conversations about three main pillars:
Obesity and health: How obesity is connected to a host of other health issues such as heart disease, mental health, and diabetes.
Obesity and our world: How obesity is connected to the world around us and topics such as climate change, food systems, and the creation of healthy environments.
Obesity and youth: How young people are impacted by unhealthy environments, stigma, food marketing, and school environments.
What has FOLKBIT got to do with it?
The points one to four listed above are at heart of why FOLKBIT exists.
We're more than a gym towel business. FOLKBIT is a social enterprise, a business for good that exist specifically to make the world a better place, igniting a movement to support a healthier Australia.
We direct 50% of our profits towards our goal to reverse the trend and decrease the rates of overweight and obesity in Australia, where 67% of adults and 25% are faced with this challenge.
Through our donations to The Obesity Collective (peak body for obesity in Australia) and the Weight Issues Network, which advocate for and work closely with people with lived experiences of overweight and obesity, we aim to positively impact millions of people in Australia who currently live with overweight and obesity.
You too can join our movement to #changeobesity. By joining our educational community initiatives or buying/stocking/selling our products to help us raise funds for our beneficiaries, you can be part of the solution to halt the rates of obesity in Australia.
Our educational community initiatives aim to alert people to the complexities of overweight and obesity, empowering them to seek help.
Positive intervention in obesity can lead to improved health, enhanced well-being, and expanded life opportunities, reducing the risk of preventable chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and at least 13 types of cancer, apart from the estimated $87.7 billion cost of obesity in Australia by 2032.
So join us on the #changeobesity #towelsforgood movement. Together, let's improve millions of lives, one towel at a time.
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