Turkey’s new health initiative to identify overweight people in public and refer them to health centers has triggered public backlash and ridicule.
Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu announced on Sunday that the government would begin measuring citizens’ height, weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) in public spaces across all 81 provinces.
Under the new policy, individuals deemed overweight will be directed to Healthy Life Centers and Family Health Centers to receive nutritional counseling and monitoring by dietitians.
The initiative aims to reach 10 million people between May 10 and July 10 as part of a national effort to raise awareness about obesity and promote healthier lifestyles.
The announcement, made on the minister’s official X account, quickly became the subject of mockery online as Turks juxtaposed the government’s crackdown on dissent with the new anti-weight initiative, framing it as a crackdown on excess weight.
“Imagine you’re walking down the street, they stop you and say, ‘Hey, fatso, head to the center,’ and they confiscate the bagel in your hand,” one user joked.
Another user criticized the plan’s disconnect from economic reality, saying, “Will the ministry become a ‘belly hunter,’ saying, ‘Drop the simit, run to the dietitian!’ at markets?”
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.
Critics argue that the government is targeting individuals rather than systemic issues such as food pricing, agricultural policy and food industry regulation.
Some also view the initiative as invasive and authoritarian, likening it to dystopian surveillance.
The Turkish Health Ministry has not clarified how individuals will be approached in public spaces, what consent procedures will be followed or how data will be stored and protected.