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Nordic Collaboration

A Shared Commitment to Obesity Care, Research and Respect

The Nordic region is renowned for its strong welfare systems, commitment to equality, and high public trust in science. At ObesityGlobal, we believe these shared values uniquely position the Nordic countries to lead the way in transforming how we speak about, understand, and treat obesity — not as a lifestyle issue, but as the chronic disease it truly is.

The Nordic Collaboration is part of ObesityGlobal’s overarching strategy to advance integrated, person-centred, and evidence-based care worldwide. It is built on the conviction that lasting progress requires patients, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers to work together, take shared ownership, and move the issue forward as equal partners.

Through this collaboration, we bring together a growing alliance of stakeholders from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland. We are united by a core belief:
Obesity is a chronic disease — and must be addressed with science, dignity, and compassion.

This is not a symbolic initiative. It is practical, ambitious, and grounded in shared responsibility.

Why a Nordic Partnership?

A Shared Challenge Requires Shared Responsibility

Each Nordic country has its own healthcare structure and political context. Yet we face remarkably similar challenges that transcend borders. Obesity is a growing public health concern across the region — and many of the barriers to compassionate, effective care are strikingly alike:

A lack of national strategies that fully align with the WHO’s definition of obesity as a chronic disease

Persistent stigma and bias — even within healthcare — delaying diagnosis and treatment

Fragmented services and policies leading to inconsistent access to care

Limited formal recognition of lived experience in research and decision-making

These are not isolated issues — they are regional patterns. And they require a shared and coordinated response from all sectors.

By forming a unified Nordic partnership, we can:

Co-create solutions where patients, clinicians, researchers and decision-makers all have an active role

Exchange insights and innovations — not just what works, but why it works, and where it can improve

Develop adaptable models tailored to different contexts, grounded in shared principles

Speak with a strong and unified voice in European and global policy arenas

Build a collaborative ecosystem where every actor contributes unique expertise — and shares

responsibility for meaningful change

This is not about identical solutions — it is about shared values, joint leadership, and collective ownership.

Our Strategic Focus Areas

An Integrated Approach Across Sectors and Roles

The Nordic Collaboration is built on a strong and inclusive platform of patient leaders, clinicians, researchers, and policy actors — working side by side to transform how obesity is recognised and addressed across the region. No single group carries the burden alone — real progress depends on shared accountability and joint action.

To turn our shared ambition into real-world change, we focus on six strategic, interconnected pillars:

1. Knowledge Sharing

We exchange methods, tools, and real-world insights across borders. Through mutual learning and cross-sector dialogue, we raise the standard of care and understanding throughout the region.

Cross-border data and tools

Best practice sharing across clinical, academic and community settings

Scalable models tailored to national contexts

2. Policy Advocacy and Alignment

We coordinate our national efforts to speak with one unified voice at EU and global levels — aligned with the WHO definition and ObesityGlobal’s international strategy.

Joint Nordic policy positions

Coordinated advocacy at EU and WHO levels

Support for national strategies that reflect a chronic disease model

3. Patient Engagement and Empowerment

People living with obesity are not passive recipients — they are co-creators, experts in their own experience, and essential to everything we do.

Patient representation across all workstreams

Co-creation of materials and projects

Lived experience recognised as evidence

4. Inclusive and Ethical Research

We promote research that is not only methodologically sound, but also grounded in human relevance. Patients are not merely subjects — they are co-designers, reviewers, and contributors.

Active patient involvement in research

Ethical, stigma-aware study design

Stronger connections between academia and civil society

5. Reducing Stigma Across Sectors

Weight stigma is not just harmful — it’s a barrier to care. We work to shift narratives and remove structural bias in healthcare, education, workplaces and media.

Public education campaigns

Training for professionals in healthcare and education

Collaboration with media, employers and schools

6. Patient Involvement in Research — From Tokenism to True Partnership

Our sixth strategic pillar reflects a fundamental shift in how we value lived experience in science:
Patient involvement in obesity research.

We believe that research is at its best when it is shaped with the people it seeks to benefit. Our goal is to make patient involvement the norm, not the exception — a standard part of ethical and effective research.

This includes:

Co-creation of research agendas

Patient inclusion in ethics boards, advisory groups and project teams

Development of national guidelines that embed patient involvement

Capacity-building for researchers and patient advocates alike

Looking Ahead — Together

The Nordic Collaboration stands as a living example of how regional collaboration, global strategy, and local action can come together to create tangible change.

Together, we are building a future where obesity is recognised and treated as the chronic disease it is — with care, respect, and science at the core.