Balgarianovinite.com Experts discussed trends in childhood obesity during the Second National Congress on Obesity with international participation which took place in Sofia. The three-day forum is organized by the Bulgarian Association for the Study of Obesity and Associated Diseases (BASORD) with the support of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO). This year’s main theme is “Sex Matters in Obesity”. Key topics in the programme include the national strategy for prevention and treatment of obesity, modern GLP-1 therapies, childhood obesity, the impact of sex differences on metabolic health, and the future of obesity treatment.
More than 300,000 children in Bulgaria are affected by overweight or obesity, with 113,000 children aged between five and nine classified as overweight and 193,000 as either overweight or obese, said Prof. Dr. Teodora Handjieva-Darlenska, Chair of BASORD. She said that according to a UNICEF report from 2025, Bulgaria is among the European countries with the highest levels of childhood obesity, with nearly one in three children affected. She added that these figures indicate a particularly concerning health profile among children. By 2040, an estimated 26,000 young people are expected to have a high body mass index and suffer from high blood pressure, she further warned.
EASO President Prof. Volkan Yumuk presented data on global obesity trends, stressing that if decisive action is not taken, around 3.8 billion adults over the age of 25 could be overweight or obese by 2050. He emphasized the need for comparative analyses across countries, noting that valuable insights can be drawn from nations where obesity rates have stabilized at low levels or plateaued early.
According to recent trends, improvements in obesity indicators are first observed among children, Prof. Yumuk said. In high-income countries, positive changes are typically first seen among children and adolescents. He said that in most developed countries, the rise in childhood obesity began before the start of the new millennium. After 2000, this trend slowed, and in some cases even slightly declined. By the mid-2000s, increases in obesity rates among school-age children and adolescents in many high-income countries had begun to stabilize, and in some cases decrease, he added.
The economic impact of overweight and obesity is estimated at one trillion dollars, said Prof. Kiril Karamfilov, head of the Cardiology Clinic at Alexandrovska University Hospital. He described this as a major economic burden, highlighting the scale of the social, medical, and financial challenge posed by obesity.
The role of general practitioners in obesity management was highlighted by general medicine specialist Dr. Tatyana Mateva. She said that the family doctor is often the most accessible healthcare professional for patients, and that preventive check-ups represent the first line of obesity prevention. Experts Warn of Rising Childhood Obesity at National Obesity Congress with International Participation 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-06-05 19:29:48 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law