The news is simple, and at the same time revolutionary. Italy is the first and only country in the world to have a law on obesity. The Senate Assembly gathered this morning voted for the DDL contained in the act of the Chamber of Deputies n.741 of the XIX Legislature of 28 December 2022 concerning “Provisions for the prevention and care of obesity“Previously approved by the Chamber. Promoter and first signatory of the law, the honorable Roberto Pella, president of the parliamentary interior “Obesity, diabetes and non -transmissible chronic diseases“.
In summary, the six articles of which the Pella law traces the key points of the fight against obesity:
- the official definition of obesity as a progressive and relapse chronic disease;
- the insertion of performance in the essential levels of assistance provided by the NHS;
- the financing of national programs for prevention, education, training and care;
- the establishment of an observatory at the Ministry of Health for the study of obesity and its monitoring;
- The value of awareness campaigns.
Because it is important to act
The World Obesity Atlas provides that the global economic impact of overweight and obesity will reach 4.32 trillions of dollars a year by 2035, if the prevention and care measurement will not improve.
Coming to the numbers, according to what a recent study appeared in The Lancet, which involved experts from the NCB Risk Factor Collaboration together with the WHO, the global prevalence of the disease obesity in the last thirty years would have doubled in women, tripled in men and quadrupled in children and teenagers reaching 159 million children, 879 million adults in 2022. health systems, as well as for the health of individuals.
Coming to Italy, according to the most recent data of the surveillance system passes relating to 2020-2021, the prevalence of obesity in the Italian adult population is 11.1% between men and 9.7% among women. Not only that: it is also highlighted how the prevalence of obesity is greater in the less well-off social classes and with a lower socio-cultural level. It is more than doubled in people who report many economic difficulties reaching up to 17.9% compared to people who do not report any, where it drops to 8.3%. Instead, the national data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in pediatric age are provided by two surveillance investigations conducted by the Higher Institute of Health: the first, OKKIO TO HEALTH, is referring to children of 8-9 years and highlights a prevalence of obesity of 9.4% with slightly higher percentages in males compared to females (9.9% vs 8.8%).
What the law proposes
The legislative act structured in six articles provides for an integrated approach in the fight against obesity which includes prevention, care and social awareness.
The law, awaited for some time, represents a historical step and a decisive step forward for public health, considered the alarming growth of numbers and complications of obesity in Italy and in the world. The approval of the first law in the world aimed at counteracting obesity falls in coincidence with the opening in Trieste of the XII National Congress of the Italian Society of Obesity (Sio) which meets the major Italian and international experts of obesity.
“The Italian Society of Obesity is very happy for the approval of the Law Pella on obesity, a historical passage that definitively confirms for the first time to the world a specific and systematic legislation of obesity as a disease, a point of no return and a source of pride for Italy”
Report Rocco Barazzoni, Sio president.
“We are also satisfied because our scientific society has contributed to the realization of this important step forward. We thank the Hon. Pella and all the parliamentarians; a lot of work still awaits us to bring to daily clinical practice and among patients the possibility of accessing prevention and care that are central to the law, but are still not available for all citizens”.
Patient associations played an important role together with the scientific and academic world in bringing the DDL Pella to complete.
“We are very satisfied to finally see the law that recognizes obesity as a pathology approved. We have waited for a long time, it is an important step towards overcoming the stigma and full protection of the rights of Italian patients with obesity”
comments Iris Zani, president of the Obese Amici Association.
“Although it is a historical moment, the first law on obesity worldwide, for us it does not represent a goal, but the beginning of a path. It is now necessary that the competent institutions are activated urgently to guarantee patients with real protections and adequate care paths. In particular, we await the approval and implementation of the national chronicity plan, to see their effectiveness on taking charge of people with obesity and, even more, we await the update of the Lea with The inclusion of performance for the diagnosis, taking charge and treatment of patients with obesity.
