A set of recommendations was officially published today by the Portuguese Parliament and delivered to the Government with 13 specific measures providing for the prevention, treatment and control of obesity.
These recommendations will be published in English on the official website as number 195/2021 and can now be read in Portuguese.
The thirteen recommendations align with the five priorities defined in a paper published on 4 March, 2021, World Obesity Day, entitled “Recalibrating the Scales – toward a holistic and fair response to obesity”.
This was a long road that started with the publication of the paper mentioned above, and following a long series of meetings across national parliamentary groups. The engagement here led the Portuguese Parliament to carry out a deep and informed discussion on obesity.
This discussion resulted in the publication announced today, which will guide us in the next steps with national authorities.
Among the 13 recommendations, we highlight:
- Reinforcing implementation of strategies to address obesity and develop preventive measures aimed at the causes of obesity at primary care level
- Increasing the number of obesity consultations for patients with class II obesity who experience comorbid health conditions, and with for class III obesity in hospitals and local health units
- Taking necessary measures to ensure that drugs authorised by INFARMED – National Authority for Medicines and Health Products currently used to manage obesity, are reimbursed by the National Health Service, creating a pharmacological subgroup for obesity treatment, providing reimbursement at appropriate levels.
Just as we congratulate Portugal here, Portugal congratulates the efforts and progress in addressing obesity other countries have achieved.