Actions of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention include the National Program to Prevent and Combat Obesity in Adults of the Ministry of Health, which was designed by the University of Western Attica.

The program seeks on the one hand to reduce the risk factors responsible for the appearance of obesity and on the other hand, to fight back the consequences of overweight and obesity, which often lead to the appearance of chronic diseases and multimorbidity.

It is aimed at adults who are overweight or obese and enables these people to have a free clinical assessment, to know if they have any risk factors related to the appearance of obesity and to deal with them in time.

Also, to receive free services from specialist nutritionists in order to improve their eating habits and physical condition and to receive free specialized combined treatment, (nutritional counseling, health behavior change counseling and pharmacotherapy) in cases of severe obesity, which coexists with serious chronic diseases.

The program expected to start in June of this year and has been included in the planning of actions of the “Spyros Doxiadis” program which are included in the Public Investment Program (PIP) of the Ministry of Health and come from resources of the Greece 2.0 Recovery and Resilience Fund with the financing of the European Union- NextGenerationEU.

In our country, with the most recent data, only 30.3% of the general population is within normal weight limits, while 37.6% are overweight and 32.1% are obese, with 3 out of 4 families having at least an overweight or obese parent;

In addition, the action includes a special, certified program 60 hours of training, which will be implemented by the University of Western Attica. The program is addressed to all healthcare professionals – with a special focus on primary care – and seeks to eequip with knowledge, skills and tools, to provide more effective health behavior change services and to be able to work with patients in a new context, acting as advisors and empowering individuals so that the right choice becomes the easy choice.

Alongside, they will work with nutritionists and will monitor the patient’s progress on a long-term basis.

In the context of the overall approach to obesity cfor its early diagnosis and treatmentthe program also includes broader awareness and information initiatives to upgrade the education of study programs at every level, for every branch of the health professions, in order to enable our country in the immediate future to keep up with the needs of the modern era, which dictate the shift to prevention and strengthening the knowledge and skills of health professionals to meet the needs of the population in this area.

Health Minister Thanos Plevris said about the program that “weight monitoring, exercise and good nutrition are allies for improving public health indicators. In this direction, a program of access to nutritionists and, where necessary, medication will be implemented through the personal doctor. Prevention saves and our goal is to keep citizens healthy.”