INSIDE the world’s obesity capital it’s not just the locals who are larger than life – it’s the bus seats, the school desks and the hospital beds.
Even a special day to celebrate “fat rights” has been introduced. But attitudes have been changing – and locals are now so desperate to shed the pounds that a sprawling fat jab black market has emerged.
In Brazil, obesity among adults has doubled over the last two decades, to nearly a third of the population.
And in response to the mounting crisis, the country has fought to combat the climbing rates.
But alongside measures to improve health, Brazil has seen a huge movement of people embracing their fat bodies – fighting to enshrine obesity rights and help overweight locals fit in.
As the South American nation grapples with its new reality, authorities have taken steps to make life easier for it’s rotund demographic.
Laws forcing schools to provide extra-large seats to students have been passed, while larger customers have been given priority places at banks.
In hospitals, doctors have brought in bigger beds and plus-sized MRI scanners.
And at the same time, rules are being implemented to counter “gordofobia” – discrimination against fat people – in and outside the workplace.
A special “fat rights” day was even legally introduced in three Brazilian states to raise awareness for overweight people’s rights.
As far back as 2014 during Brazil’s World Cup, nearly 5,000 extra-wide seats were up for grabs to help fans with obesity – a disease which is classified as a disability under Brazilian law.
If the country stays on the same path, more than half of their population is expected to be obese by 2040, experts warn.
Dr Andrea Pereira, co-founder of NGO Obesidade Brasil, told The Sun many of her patients are too embarrassed to go out and socialise because of their weight.
Describing the many ways Brazilian society has adjusted to the ongoing epidemic, Pereira detailed how the country has introduced things like bigger seats in restaurants, theatres, and even buses and trains.
But despite these adjustments, she says that many are still afraid of using them because of their insecurity around their weight.
She said: “People are ashamed to use the seats and prefer not going out to avoid showing themselves.
“Because obesity is a different disease, you can see the obesity all the time, it’s impossible to hide it.”
The doctor also pointed out that the rise of obesity has seen many try to combat their disease with fat jabs, including semaglutide and tirzepatide.
These were legally introduced in June – but before this, authorities had been and still are battling an underground weight-loss drug network.
Police had seized some 8,000 tirzepatide pens – which were fetching around $300 a pop on the black market.
Since then, access has still been limited – with only the most rich in Brazil’s society able to access the “very expensive” drugs.
Dr Pereira said: “For poor people its most difficult to treat obesity, because the public health system doesn’t have enough medicine, help centres and there is a very big line.”
Fat jab raids
Shockingly, the obesity drug craze has even sparked a crime spike as a result of the skyrocketing demand.
Armed robbers have raided pharmacies and worked with smugglers to transport them in and out of the country.
In 2024, there were 39 pharmacy robberies, compared to just one in 2022.
On November 24, two gunmen were arrested in Salvador after allegedly stealing 42 boxes of fat jabs – even taking employees hostage and shooting at cops during the brazen raid.
One pharmacy manager in Sao Paulo told The New York Times that shops selling Ozempic “can’t work in peace” – and explained that his store refused to stock the drug in order to avoid being robbed.
Dr Pereira said: “We have had a large number of thefts of obesity medications in pharmacies across the country, in addition, there is smuggling and counterfeiting.
“As these are expensive medications, in a country with 41 million obese people, there is potential for profit for gangs and fraudsters.”
She said the rife crime posed “a significant challenge” to authorities.
Describing obesity among the youth, Oscar Serrano Oria, Senior Adviser for Nutrition at UNICEF UK told us: “In Brazil obesity levels in children [have] risen from 5 per cent in 2000 to 15 per cent in 2022.
“The consumption of ultra-processed food is affecting mainly the most vulnerable people, who live in food insecurity, given these food are highly accessible, cheap, and aggressively marketed.”
Brazil’s obesity epidemic is also affecting certain cities more than others.
In Recife, one of Brazil’s fattest cities, teachers have been legally obliged to educate kids on weight-based discrimination.
Another law created a yearly day to celebrate fat people’s rights.
In 2021, Recife passed a bill obliging local schools to have bigger desks, a move spearheaded by councilwoman Cida Pedrosa.
The lawmaker told BBC: “We’re not denying that in some cases, being obese can bring health problems.
“But we also have to stop pathologising fat bodies and thinking that fat bodies are sick.”
Highlighting he devastating threat the obesity crisis poses in Brazil today, Dr Pereira also told how obesity is related to at least 13 types of cancer.
She added: “In general people blame obesity on greed or desire and call it a lack of control – but that’s not true, it is a disease.”
She also said that Brazil had recently reached a shocking point where there were more children suffering from obesity than malnutrition.
Oria said: “Obesity surpassed underweight as the most prevalent form of malnutrition for the first time this year, affecting 188 million school-aged children and placing them at risk of life-threatening disease.
Pointing out the roots of the crisis, Pereira partially blames globalisation and the onset of ultra-processed foods.
There is a strong correlation between international fast food chains and obesity levels among children in Brazil, research shows.
The health system has also been dogged by long queues, with people waiting up to seven years to undergo bariatric surgery, Dr Pereira said.
Oria added: “Ultra-processed food is increasingly replacing fruits, vegetables and protein traditional foods at a time when nutrition plays a critical role in children’s physical and mental growth.”
While fat jabs have been life changing for so many – the question remains, is it too late for the world’s obesity capital?