The International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) joins World Obesity

World Obesity is pleased to announce that the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) has recently joined World Obesity as a Full Member.

IFSO is a Federation comprised of 72 national associations of bariatric surgeons, as well as integrated health professionals, all of which are listed on the IFSO portal.

World Obesity will collaborate with IFSO across a range of topics and events, including the International Congress on Obesity 2022. More broadly, the two organisations look forward to exchanging knowledge and experience while striving towards a common goal of improving obesity management and treatment. Both organisations share the recognition of obesity as a complex, chronic, and relapsing disease.

Manuela Mazzarella, Chief Operating Officer of IFSO, welcomed the new relationship between the two organisations:

“I am excited to continue our collaboration with WOF at a closer level. IFSO has been partnering with WOF for many years with joint sessions at our reciprocal congresses, online webinars, SCOPE schools, etc. We are excited to keep on fostering this fruitful collaboration and believe that the cooperation between Physicians and Surgeons is the key to fight our common enemy: Obesity.

“I am very glad that WOF will be present next year in Miami in August 2022 at our 25th IFSO World Congress with a dedicated Session, and of course IFSO would be happy to do the same at ICO 2022 in Melbourne in October.

“Being the biggest Federation in the world of bariatric surgeons, we are keen to be part of global institutional activities that could bring more attention to the topic of Obesity. First of all, we would love to be an active partner of the Global Obesity Coalition, with WHO and UNICEF, as well as the World Health Assembly, and any coordinated action with WHO.”

Other areas where IFSO will seek to cooperate with WOF include data provision, policy, and sharing our reciprocal information about initiatives, educational events via global newsletters, websites and social media.