Obesity is a disease. Progressive, recurring, social. No longer only for doctors and patients, but now also for the state. Italy, the first country in the world, has approved a law that recognizes obesity as a real pathology, an indispensable step to make the treatments more accessible, against the national health service.
“It is a great result, a strong stance, of which Italy must be proud», He comments Annamaria Colaovice -president of the Superior Council of Health, director of the Endocrinology, Diabetology, Andrology and Nutrition Department at the University of Federico II of Naples. “For some time there has been a need for legislation that recognized obesity for what it is, no longer a” condition ” – as it was defined until 2019 – not only a chronic disease, but a pathology that requires ad hoc codes, providing for the patient’s taking care of patients, with free access to therapies”.
A growing pandemic
Parliament therefore said yes to the bill n. 1483, promoted by Roberto Pella, group leader in the Budget Committee in the Chamber for Forza Italia, president of the parliamentary interior ceiling “obesity, diabetes and chronic non -transmissible diseases” and the first signatory of the law, which said: “Obesity represents a global emergency, which also strongly affects our country. Having recognized it today, thanks to the vote of the Senate room, as a real disease testifies to the will full of dealing with it as a national priority ».
And the numbers confirm it. The people of the Obese is increasingnot only in the United States, but in the whole world, including Italy, so much so that experts now speak of pandemic: 12% of the adult population, about 6 million people, to whom 40% of overweight individuals are added.
More accessible care
A problem not only clinical, but also socio -economic. “Obesity has always been a disease that involves the less well -off classes”, continues Annamaria Colao, “people who eat badly, lead an incorrect lifestyle, do not do physical activity, do not have the means to access the therapies, too expensive. The new law is also relevant from this point of view: it will give us the opportunity to take care of those who are most in difficulty, giving relief to those who do not have enough resources to be able to feel better ».
The legislation in fact guarantees theaccess to care in the field of Lea (essential assistance levels)establishing that people with obesity have the right to take charge by the National Health Service, on the basis of diagnostic-therapeutic paths, both for adults and for children.
Anti-obesity drugs, the so-called “analogues of the GLP-1”-which imitate the action of the hormone of satiety, reducing the sense of hunger and slowing down gastric emptying-represent a real revolution in the fight against obesity: the costs, however, are very high. “As a researcher I can say that thanks to these new molecules we have the opportunity to win the battle against obesity,” says the endocrinologist, “but as a doctor I have always found little ethical the fact that many sick people could not afford such drugs because of the prohibitive costs. Therefore, a regulatory framework was needed that laid the foundations to overcome this obstacle and guarantee the care that they have the right to receive as soon as possible ».
On the side of patients
The law also addresses the theme of inclusion, encouraging the insertion of people with obesity in many social contexts, to break down prejudices and discrimination.
The one with obesity, in fact, is not a patient like the others. It is often ridiculed, isolated, not listened, guilty. “For too long this disease has been trivialized and stigmatized,” says the vice -president of the Superior Council of Health, “and too long the patients were treated as the only responsible for their clinical condition, which does not happen for any other pathology. It is not acceptable ».
A dedicated observatory
The observatory for the study of obesity (osori) was also born, established at the Ministry of Health, with the task of collecting epidemiological data, monitoring the lifestyles of Italians and studying the dissemination of the disease, relating to the rooms every year.
Funds are still not enough
Let’s talk about money. The new law authorizes, for the financing of a national program for the prevention and care of obesity, the expenditure of 700 thousand euros for 2025, of 800 thousand euros for 2026 and 1.2 million euros per year starting from 2027. 400,000 euros per year are also allocated, starting from 2025, for training and updating activities. Finally, there is an allocation of 100 thousand euros per year intended for information and food education campaigns and promotion of physical activity, key points of prevention and obesity treatment.
Will it be enough? “The available resources are not enough yet,” replies Annamaria Colao, “but it was not possible to already have all the funds necessary to face a pandemic phenomenon like this on the first step. It is completely realistic that we proceed by degrees, to be able to treat patients as soon as possible with severe obesity and many comorbilities (the coexistence of multiple pathologies in the same subject) against the national health service. From the clinical point of view it is an important first step ».
A starting point
“With this law, the commitment to combat obesity is strengthened focusing decisively on prevention as well as on specific training for health personnel. It is an important and concrete response for the protection of citizens’ health, “said Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci, who defined the provision” an act of civilization “. A goal that must be considered at the same time a starting point. “For all those who work in the health sector, a series of great opportunities has opened,” concludes Annamaria Colao. “This law will encourage not only a fair diffusion of care, but also the creation of reference centers and participation in national registers, which will allow us to have data on which important scientific processing processings are available”.
