European Association for the Study of Obesity
EASO
Established in 1986, EASO is a federation of 40 National Obesity Associations from across the European region.
ID: 020025124702-06
Lobbying Activity
Meeting with Elena Nevado Del Campo (Member of the European Parliament)
28 Oct 2025 · Obesity as a chronic disease
Response to EU cardiovascular health plan
15 Sept 2025
The European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) supports the European Commissions intention to develop an EU Cardiovascular Health Plan, recognising this as a critical opportunity to implement actions that deliver tangible benefits for individuals, governments, and stakeholders across the EU. The upcoming plan represents Europes best chance to follow up on the 2024 Council Conclusions on the improvement of cardiovascular health in the European Union and should become a pivotal step forward for the cardiovascular and non-communicable disease (NCD) community, like the progress made through Europes Beating Cancer Plan in the last European Commission mandate. Recognised as a disease by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1948, obesity is defined as a complex, chronic condition characterised by excess or dysfunctional adiposity that impairs health. It is driven by a multitude of biological, genetic, environmental, socioeconomic, behavioural, and psychological factors. Obesity is both a chronic, relapsing disease in its own right, as well as a gateway to several other NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD), type 2 diabetes, liver and kidney diseases, and several types of cancer. Without urgent and comprehensive action, it is projected that 30% of Europeans will be living with obesity by 2030. The economic burden is equally alarming, with the global cost of overweight and obesity expected to reach 2.7 trillion annually by 2030 and more than 16 trillion by 2060. Managing obesity alongside other NCDs could prevent more than 230 associated disease complications and drastically improve individual and population health outcomes (see attachment for references). Within the cardiovascular health context, research shows that obesity is a direct cause of several cardiovascular diseases. Obesity not only contributes to traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease, like hypertension and insulin resistance, but also independently increases the risk of developing CVD and mortality. In fact, 67.5% of cardiovascular related mortality is associated with high body mass index (BMI). Despite growing awareness of the serious cardiovascular health implications related to obesity, current EU-level efforts remain insufficient to address its increasing prevalence. While initiatives such as the 2024 Council Conclusions on the improvement of cardiovascular health in the European Union offer valuable platforms for discussions, they insufficiently highlight the importance of preventing and managing obesity as an important strategy for addressing cardiovascular disease prevention and management. Given the direct causal links, obesity must be recognised and addressed as an important gateway disease within the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan. Effective obesity management can prevent cardiovascular diseases and its complications. Multiple lines of evidence show that treating obesity substantially reduces cardiovascular disease risk and mortality. Through sustained weight loss, improved metabolic and inflammatory profiles or direct pharmacologic cardiovascular effects, obesity management plays a crucial role in preventing cardiovascular related deaths. Without explicit integration of obesity management in the Cardiovascular Health Plan, the EU risks missing a critical opportunity to intervene early to effectively address cardiovascular disease. As the leading voice for obesity science, medicine, and advocacy in Europe, representing 40 national obesity societies, EASO believes that including obesity as a central element of the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan is pivotal to improving the health and well-being of millions of EU citizens. You will find attached our evidence to support the inclusion of obesity within and recommendations for the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan.
Read full responseMeeting with Michael Mcnamara (Member of the European Parliament)
4 Jun 2025 · Introduction
Meeting with Michalis Hadjipantela (Member of the European Parliament) and Standing Committee of European Doctors
4 Jun 2025 · Meeting
Meeting with Tilly Metz (Member of the European Parliament)
23 Apr 2025 · Public health policy and obesity
Meeting with Oliver Schenk (Member of the European Parliament)
23 Apr 2025 · Obesity in the EU
Meeting with Oliver Schenk (Member of the European Parliament)
15 Jan 2025 · European Health Policy - priorities for the new legislative term
Meeting with Aurelijus Veryga (Member of the European Parliament)
3 Dec 2024 · Discussing strategies to prevent and manage obesity in Europe
Response to A comprehensive approach to mental health
15 Feb 2023
EASO, The European Association for the Study of Obesity welcomes the proposed new European Commission Communication on Mental Health; particularly given the positive impact such an initiative can have towards meaningful health outcomes to People Living with Obesity and EASOs core constituency the health professionals who provide healthcare services, research and Public Health interventions. Obesity has debilitating effects on both physical and mental health, and can lead to full-blown mental illness as a result of physical illnesses. In turn, psychiatric complaints can also cause obesity as a result of medication effects, hormone imbalances, and the behavioural issues that result from psychiatric disorders. Evidence shows that these can be due to particular classes of medications. Given that a conservative estimated 60% of Europeans are already living with obesity classified as a chronic disease by the WHO and characterised by abnormal and or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health (ICD 11) there is a pivotal need to ensure that the full chronic disease continuum is applied to obesity as it can only benefit the early diagnosis, screening, treatment and long-term management of mental health disorders. A mental health and neurological disorders plan that not only promotes well-being, but also primary prevention, acute care and long-term management and embodies the principles of Universal Health Coverage towards the 2030 UN SDGs will have a positive impact on the prevalence and severity rates of people living with the chronic disease of obesity; but only if the same chronic disease pathway is implemented for Obesity. here is a need for Cross-cutting measures such as health literacy for all to educate all disciplines and related policy and regulatory bodies to ensure better health outcomes for people at risk of or living with mental health disorders. To include: Compulsory module in curricula for all HCPs from basic training through to specialised (60 credits courses) on the biology of obesity and the interlinkages with mental health disorders. Prioritised Research agendas on the interlinkages between the biology of obesity and mental and/ neurological disorders that go beyond primary prevention of obesity Opportunity under Programmes such as Erasmus+ for exchanges to centres of Excellence such as those organised by EASO COMs Exchange and Mentoring Programme EASO COMs Exchange Programme - EASO Proactively documenting and upscaling of best practices of mental health interventions through the lens of obesity diagnosis, treatment and long term management via the EU Health Portal such as The Holbæk Model Healthcare Professional Education Programme from Denmark, which recently won the EASO/ECPO award for Best National Training Programme 2022 (Winners of the 2022 top World Obesity Day Awards in Europe World Obesity Day Europe (woday.eu) ) Building on Good practices and guidelines from other world regions such as The Role of Mental Health in Obesity Management - Obesity Canada . Regarding early detection and screening of mental health problems: Screening for mental health disorders when screening for the biology of obesity and vice versa. Adopting an obesity disease staging framework which includes elements on mental health and neurological disorders Development of protocols for primary care and allied professions to be able to implement good practices Statistically, people living with obesity and mental health and/ neurological disorders are the most likely to be financially disadvantaged. Yet, psychological care is under-resourced across the Union; both in terms of available professionals and affordability/ access to reimbursement. Even worse are the lack of specialist obesity-trained psychologists. A Mental Health Plan should take into account specialist trained psychologists to take into account the major comorbidities obesity, cancer etc.
Read full responseMeeting with Sara Cerdas (Member of the European Parliament)
16 May 2022 · Priorities for COVI Committee
Meeting with Sara Cerdas (Member of the European Parliament)
27 Apr 2022 · Desafios para a saúde
Meeting with Sara Cerdas (Member of the European Parliament)
4 Mar 2022 · World Obesity Day EU
Meeting with Sara Cerdas (Member of the European Parliament)
28 Feb 2022 · Preparação do evento "MEP Interest Group on Obesity and Health System Resilience"
Meeting with Susana Solís Pérez (Member of the European Parliament)
4 Dec 2021 · The digitalisation of the healthcare sector and its impact on Obesity as a chronic disease
Meeting with Margaritis Schinas (Vice-President) and
8 Apr 2021 · Health Union
Response to Farm to Fork Strategy
16 Mar 2020
Established in 1986, EASO is a federation of professional membership associations from 34 countries, with a network of over 130 specialist Collaborating Centres for Obesity Management across the region. EASO’s mission is to reduce the burden of unhealthy weight, and it promotes action through collaboration in research, education and policy. EASO is in official relations with the WHO Regional Office for Europe, and represents scientists, health care practitioners, physicians, public health experts and patients.
Obesity as one of the targets for the Farm to Fork Strategy
EASO welcomes obesity being prioritised within the Farm to Fork Strategy Roadmap. However, we are concerned that the currently expressed approach is not aligned with the scientific consensus and WHO ICD (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) respectively.
Obesity is a multifactorial chronic relapsing disease, the onset of which, relies on a set of underlying individual or multiple factors which are biological (endocrine, psychiatric disorders, genetics) or human Exposome factors which have a direct impact on an individual’s biology ( certain prescription medications, acute weight gain triggered by major surgical procedures, lifestyle triggers such as related to lack of sleep).
As a result, scientific evidence dictates that there is an opportunity for the Farm to Fork Strategy to align with the scientific evidence and move from the current generalised approach of “personal choice” into ensuring that the food supply environment is such that it can minimise biological and broader human exposome triggers to the onset and then the longer term management of the disease.
“Healthy food” is a relative concept when dealing with the chronic diseases of obesity and its complications.
EASO would welcome an implementation approach which takes into account the concept of personalised nutrition as part of the prevention, treatment and longer term management of obesity in line with the underlying original cause and/ comorbidities. This will entail an interlinkage between the F2F strategy and that on the Health Data Space and ideally the International Patient Summary spearheaded by DGs CONNECT and SANTE.
We welcome the opportunity to further policy harmonisation around FOPL with the proviso that it is underpinned by a comprehensive capacity-building package for citizens, patients, HCPs and policymakers alike as to the harm or benefit to preventing/ managing their variation of obesity from originating cause.
United Nations SDGs and obesity
Although NCDs are the focus of an SDG target, obesity is not explicitly alluded to, making it even less likely to be addressed in a meaningful cross-cutting manner as regards how food policies can positively impact the biological disease progression. As such, we advocate for Obesity to be treated as other chronic diseases and as such, the F2F implementation instruments would reflect this as part of broader National Plans on Obesity the framework for which can be developed at EU level using a Mission approach.
Understanding the underpinning causes of the onset of Obesity and the disease progression pathway will allow all actors to meaningfully leverage high impact policies such as the Farm to Fork Strategy as an integral element of a broader system approach to obesity as a chronic disease.
www.easo.org
Read full responseResponse to Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
4 Mar 2020
Established in 1986, EASO is a federation of professional membership associations from 34 countries, with a network of over 130 specialist Collaborating Centres for Obesity Management across the region. EASO’s mission is to reduce the burden of unhealthy weight, and it promotes action through collaboration in research, education and policy. EASO is in official relations with the WHO Regional Office for Europe, and represents scientists, health care practitioners, physicians, public health experts and patients.
Obesity acts a s a “gateway disease” to inter alia certain cancers
In Europe obesity prevalence has tripled since 1980 . Overweight reduces the gross domestic product by 3.3%. If obesity incidence continues at the current rate, from 2020 to 2050 OECD countries are estimated to spend 8.4 % of their health budget on treating the consequences of obesity and overweight . Furthermore, there are 236 disorders associated with obesity , and it is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers . In fact, obesity is the source of about 15% of all preventable cancers (notably breast, corectal and prostate cancers).
A coordinated EU level Action that treats obesity as other chronic diseases can make a significant difference in the fight to prevent cancer.
In this context, EASO welcomes the Beating Cancer Plan as it is a clear opportunity to develop a “joined up” approach for curbing the obesity epidemic and preventing cancers. It also offers the opportunity to provide a basis for implementation of the Horizon Europe Mission on Cancer as well as the known priorities of obesity as well as investigation of the Human Exposome (external factors which impact biology in the onset and disease progression pathway).
1. Make cancer-related precursors and comorbidities like obesity a central part of the cancer plan as comorbidities can only be dealt with through a multidisciplinary and holistic approach. Ensure that there is a full EU strategy and related National Plans for obesity along the life course, including as a chronic gateway disease to cancer and as such has mechanisms to link across disease areas at all levels.
2. Provide guidance to Member States to ensure both healthcare professionals and informal carers are trained to identify and manage comorbid conditions such as overweight and obesity taking into account discriminatory practices which too often lead to non-diagnosis of complications of obesity including cancers.
3. Ensure that the management of cancer patients with comorbidities is defined by integrated care, that is the care is shared between relevant specialists, includes psychosocial support, careful use of complementary medicines being used, and systems that are in place for data collection and sharing.
4. Encourage and support voluntary coordination between Member States in order for them to establish Comprehensive Cancer Care Networks (CCCNs) which is the optimal way of offering multidisciplinary and integrated cancer care according to the CanCon Guide recommendations , . That those CCCNs are at a minimum digitally interconnected with the other precursor and co-morbid conditions and diseases such as obesity through upscaling of Centres of Obesity Management and preferably through the establishment of chronic disease Reference Networks including those for obesity.
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