Turkey has launched a campaign to address its overweight population, deploying health inspectors to public areas with weighing scales and tape measures to conduct spontaneous body mass index (BMI) assessments.

Health workers have been sent to all 81 provinces as part of an effort to evaluate 10 million people by July 10. BMI checks are being carried out in public locations such as parks, shopping centers, bus stops, and town squares, according to the Daily Mail.

Turkish Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu revealed at a nursing conference last week that “50 percent” of Turkey is overweight.

“Being overweight means being sick, it means we will get sick in the future,” he said. “Our young children are overweight, their body resistance is high and that's why they don't get sick, but when they start getting older, that weight will turn into joint and heart diseases.”

Memişoğlu disclosed that he himself was found to be “above normal weight” during a check by health officials. “Turns out I'm a little over. It's up to me now, I'll be walking every day,” he posted on Thursday.

The anti-obesity campaign, which began May 10 under the slogan, “Know Your Weight, Live Healthy,” aims to screen one in eight Turkish citizens. Those found with a BMI over 25 are referred to state-run health centers and offered free nutritional counseling.

Turkish citizens have commented about the campaign on social media. According to the outlet, one post described getting caught in a “fat checkpoint” and joked about giving a heads-up to others similar to how drivers warn of speed traps. Photos have also surfaced showing citizens being weighed and measured in public spaces.

Memişoğlu responded to the online commentary, saying, “Dear young people, I read what you write on social media. You are very entertaining, but the issue of being overweight is serious.” According to a 2023 estimate by the World Health Organization, approximately 30 percent of Turkey’s population is classified as obese.