MEP Carlo Ciccioli, in coordination with Carlo Fidanza, Head of the Fratelli d’Italia delegation (Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party within the ECR Group) in the European Parliament, and fellow members of the Parliament’s Public Health Committee, MEP Ruggero Razza and MEP Michele Picaro, have submitted a parliamentary question to the European Commission asking what concrete measures have already been envisaged under the European Safe Hearts Plan, adopted by the Commission in December 2025, to combat obesity—particularly childhood obesity—and to promote the Mediterranean diet as a cornerstone of cardiovascular disease prevention.
The parliamentary question draws attention to the steady rise in obesity across Europe, now recognised as one of the leading risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and numerous other chronic conditions. Today, more than half of European adults are overweight, while obesity has become one of the main drivers of cardiovascular disease through hypertension, insulin resistance and systemic inflammation
Childhood obesity is also a growing concern: around one in four children aged 7 to 9 is overweight and one in ten is obese, increasing cardiovascular risk from an early age. Through the parliamentary question, the MEPs ask the Commission what concrete educational and regulatory measures it intends to implement under the Safe Hearts Plan to address the root causes of cardiovascular disease by strengthening prevention, nutrition education and the promotion of healthy lifestyles
“This initiative confirms the commitment of the Fratelli d’Italia delegation and its representatives on the Public Health Committee to ensuring that the European Union strengthens its prevention policies by promoting the Mediterranean diet as the benchmark dietary model for protecting the health of European citizens,” the MEPs’ statement concluded. In Brussels, debate is becoming increasingly intense over how to tackle one of the main causes of obesity across Europe: the growing consumption of ultra-processed foods. Attention is also focused on the role of added sugars, ultra-processed foods and alcohol consumption, factors that contribute significantly to preventable deaths, with around 300,000 deaths recorded each year across the European Union.
According to a 2026 consensus statement by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), high consumption of ultra-processed foods is closely associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease. Adults with the highest levels of consumption face up to a 19% higher risk of coronary heart disease, a 13% higher risk of atrial fibrillation, and up to a 65% higher risk of death from cardiovascular causes compared with those who follow a traditional Mediterranean diet
According to experts, the Mediterranean diet—based on fresh foods and free from ultra-processed products—represents the most effective dietary model for preventing obesity and cardiovascular disease. For this reason, the MEPs also ask whether the Commission agrees that obesity should be recognised as the leading underlying risk factor for heart disease and what specific initiatives it intends to adopt to effectively promote the Mediterranean diet
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