A bill for the prevention and treatment of obesity, which recognizes this condition as a disease and makes Italy the first country in the world to adopt a specific law for this pathology, and another that recognizes May 16 as the National Day against Body Shaming.

The approval was unanimous from political forces and civil society, although opposition groups and patient associations maintain that concrete action must now be taken, starting with the inclusion of care and services for obese people in the Essential Levels of Assistance (LEA), a crucial step to ensuring their free provision.

The bill on obesity, co-signed by Roberto Pella (FI), was definitively approved and is now law. The majority voted in favor, while the opposition abstained, calling for increased resources and the immediate inclusion of obesity in the Essential Levels of Assistance (LEA). For the first time, however, some key points have been established: obesity is recognized as a progressive and recurring disease. Awareness and training campaigns are planned, along with facilitating the inclusion of obese people in school, work, and sports and recreational activities. A national observatory is also established, and specific funds are allocated. To fund a national prevention and treatment program, expenditures of €700,000 have been authorized for 2025, €800,000 for 2026, and €1.2 million annually from 2027. To promote obesity education and refresher courses for university students, general practitioners, pediatricians, and NHS staff, €400,000 annually has been allocated starting in 2025. But the crucial point is also the free nature of the treatments: with the recognition of obesity as a chronic disease, treatments will be covered by the NHS, but subject to the necessary inclusion in the essential levels of assistance (LEA).

And for this to happen, the Democratic Party and the opposition argue, adequate resources are needed, with the goal of ensuring equal access for all patients to specialist visits, drug treatments, bariatric surgery, and multidisciplinary care. As for the inclusion of obesity in the Essential Levels of Assistance (LEA), "we are evaluating it," the minister said. "There are many things that could be included in the Essential Levels of Assistance (LEA), but I believe that having approved a law on obesity demonstrates our commitment to public health."