Simón Barquera, president of the World Obesity Federation, is a medical doctor with a Ph.D. from Tufts University in Boston, USA. He is a member of the Mexican National Academy of Medicine, the Mexican National Academy of Sciences, and the author of more than 350 scientific publications. He has helped develop and evaluate policies for obesity and noncommunicable disease prevention and control. His work has been recognized with the 18th Martinson Lectureship at the University of Minnesota in 2018, the Michael and Susan Dell Lectureship in Child Health in 2017, the Tufts University Nutrition Impact Award in 2016, the Soper Award for Excellence in Health Literature from the Pan American Health Organization in 2003, and the Dr. Gerardo Varela Public Health Merit Award from the government of Mexico in 2020.