The Radical Health Festival Helsinki 2026 brought together leaders from health, research, policy, industry and lived experience to explore how healthcare can move from reactive systems to proactive, personalised precision health. The festival highlighted the need to scale innovative solutions that put people first, while ensuring digital transformation delivers better quality of life and sustainable health systems.
One of the featured sessions, “Co-creating the future on obesity management,” addressed how obesity is understood, discussed and managed across society. The session was moderated by Jennifer Baker, President-elect of European Association for the Study of Obesity, and brought together an interdisciplinary panel representing clinical practice, public health, industry and patient advocacy.
The panel included Professor Kirsi Pietiläinen, Professor of Clinical Metabolism at the University of Helsinki; Mari-Mette Graff from Norway, representing the ECPO; Professor Mikael Fogelholm, Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University of Helsinki; and Dr Matheus Sad, Medical Manager for Obesity and MASH at Boehringer Ingelheim.
From individual struggle to shared responsibility a central theme of the discussion was the need to fundamentally change the way obesity is framed. The panel challenged the long-standing narrative that places responsibility solely on individuals, instead emphasising that preventing and treating obesity is a shared social challenge that requires collective action.
Several key themes emerged:
- Interdisciplinary collaboration: Obesity is a complex condition that cannot be addressed by healthcare alone. Effective solutions require collaboration across sectors, including education, urban planning, technology and social policy.
- Person-centred solutions: Interventions must be designed around the real lives of people living with obesity. Scalable approaches are only effective if they recognise individual needs, circumstances and preferences.
- Tackling stigma: Stigma and prejudice remain major barriers to care. The panel stressed that professional support must be compassionate and stigma-free, and that changing language from “individual struggle” to “shared challenge” helps shift responsibility towards supportive systems rather than personal blame.
- Balancing prevention and treatment: In line with the festival’s focus on proactive health, speakers highlighted the importance of strong prevention strategies alongside access to modern, respectful treatment for those already living with obesity.
The session reflected the wider Radical Health philosophy by combining innovation with empathy and collaboration. It demonstrated how rethinking language, systems and responsibilities can help create healthcare services that are more inclusive and effective.
Speaking from a lived experience perspective, Mari-Mette Graff highlighted the importance of changing the tone of conversations around obesity. She noted that moving away from combative or “war-like” rhetoric creates space for more constructive, health-promoting dialogue, free from shame and stigma, and better aligned with the realities of people living with obesity.
