Don Francisco, PAHO Team Up To Fight Obesity

Television personality Don Francisco announces a new partnership with PAHO to fight obesity by promoting physical activity and increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. © Armando Waak/PAHO

The star of the popular TV variety show Sábado Gigante is teaming up with PAHO to mount a major public health campaign to encourage healthy eating and physical activity. He called on the ministers of health and other delegates to support the campaign with initiatives in their own countries.

"I am here today to emphasize what many say is the number-one health problem globally, a problem that I have suffered all my life: obesity," he told the assembled health leaders. He noted that many countries are fighting tobacco consumption with effective measures such as health warnings on cigarettes, "but we don't realize that many more people around the world die from sedentarism and obesity. There's nothing on junk food, for example, that warns you ‘this is dangerous for your health.'"

The new campaign, whose details are being finalized, will target U.S. Latino and Latin American audiences and will encourage viewers to eat more fruits and vegetables and incorporate more physical activity into their daily routines. It will include public service announcements, printed materials, a website, and occasional messages during Sábado Gigante, which boasts viewers in at least 30 countries.

Don Francisco pointed out that former U.S. President Bill Clinton has launched a similar campaign aimed primarily at English-speaking children in the United States.

Don Francisco, whose real name is Mario Kreutzberger, was named a PAHO Champion of Health in 2002 for his support of public health, including numerous appearances in PAHO public service announcements and a long series of telethons starting in his native Chile and now covering 13 countries, which have raised millions of dollars for hospitals and people with disabilities.

Don Francisco says his interest in fighting obesity stems from his own battle with excess weight. Though genetic factors may play a role in overweight and obesity, he says the larger part of the growing problem has to do with lifestyles.

"It's not part of our culture to invite a friend to go for a walk, but to go out to eat or drink. Our children sit for hours in front of the television or the computer or video games, and sport is not promoted in schools as much as it should be." He added that "junk food has been dominating the basic food basket."

"If we have to change some of our traditions to improve our heath, then we'll try to change them," he said.

Don Francisco is working with PAHO's public information team and PAHO nutrition expert Enrique Jacoby to develop the new campaign, whose slogan is "Let's eat healthy and get moving, Americas!" The effort falls within the framework of the World Health Organization's Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health.

Pedro García, minister of health of Chile, endorsed the effort, acknowledging that "in Chile we have a serious problem with obesity." He said a study carried out two years ago found that 61 percent of Chilean adults were overweight or obese.

"If there is a commitment from all the Pan American governments, we can, through PAHO, carry out a great campaign to end sedentary lifestyles and obesity, two problems that reduce the quality of life and shorten the life of adults," Don Francisco told the ministers of health.

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