The issue of health has returned to the center of the global political agenda. The United States, with its ‘Make America Healthy Again’ program, and Europe, with its Cardiovascular Plan, aim to reduce cardiovascular disease and chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). At the heart of these policies is prevention, which cannot be limited to rules and regulations, but must above all focus on education, skills building, and empowering citizens. It is only with more aware and empowered consumers that we can achieve lasting results.

Obesity is a complex, multifactorial condition. It does not depend on a single food or a wrong choice, but on the interaction of biological, environmental, social, psychological, and cultural factors, as well as, in part, genetics. Yet, for too long, public policies and communication strategies have followed a one-size-fits-all ideological approach, ignoring individual differences and choosing simplistic shortcuts: identifying an “enemy” to demonize, whether it be sugar, saturated fats, palm oil, animal proteins, or processed products. Thus, everything was reduced to nutrition, neglecting the other variables of obesity.

The reality is quite different. From hunters, predators but also prey, always on the move, we have become sedentary. Evolution led us to settle down with the discovery of fire, agriculture and then industry, but it is in the last 75 years that our daily energy expenditure has plummeted: from working in the fields to factories, to offices and now to automation and artificial intelligence. We are moving less and less, while we have more and more low-cost calories at our disposal. This is a positive phenomenon in itself, which has helped to defeat hunger and extend life expectancy, but it has broken the balance between energy consumed and energy intake. Restoring this balance is the real challenge, and there are no shortcuts. 

Together we wrote the book “Obesity: Instructions for Rebellion:The Mediterranean Way to Regain Balance, Health, and Freedom of Choice“, with a preface by Letizia Moratti. With this book, we want to invite citizens to overcome stigma and false solutions, restoring people to center stage and providing concrete tools. No more prohibitions or impositions, but knowledge, education, and empowerment of citizens. 

The book demonstrates the failure of the paternalistic policies adopted so far in Europe and around the world, from purpose taxes to front-of-pack labels such as Nutri-Score, to the war on palm oil and meat. These measures have not reduced obesity or NCDs, nor are they proving to be effective prevention tools. On the contrary, they have often had unintended consequences: instead of empowering citizens, they have limited their knowledge, impoverished traditional diets, and penalized local production, too often branded as “harmful” without scientific basis.

The same risk is being run today with so-called ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which are identified as the main cause of obesity. But what does ‘ultra-processed’ really mean? There is no shared scientific definition, and searching for one risks becoming a futile exercise. Demonizing entire food categories leads to ineffective and stigmatizing policies. We cannot forget that the food industry, with its products, has made safe and accessible calories available to segments of the population that would otherwise have been excluded, helping to reduce food waste and ensuring health and safety. However, food defined as ‘genuine’ is not always truly so.

For this reason, in the book we show in a simple and accessible way how people become obese: the problem is not weight itself, but the loss of personal balance. We analyze the consequences on individual, social, and economic well-being, and propose tools to restore a balanced relationship with food and lifestyle. 

Alongside this preventive perspective, another central theme is that of innovative drugs, particularly GLP-1 agonists, which are revolutionizing the therapeutic approach to obesity. These are extraordinary tools that offer new possibilities to patients who could not find solutions and can significantly improve their quality of life. However, these drugs must be considered part of the answer, not the definitive answer. They cannot replace prevention, nor can they address the cultural, social, and environmental roots of obesity on their own. It is essential that their widespread use be accompanied by policies that educate and promote balanced lifestyles: exercise, mindful eating, and mental well-being. Only in this way can drugs fully express their potential without creating new illusions. 

The solution lies in balance. The Mediterranean Diet, which we recommend as the best approach, is not simply a list of recipes or foods, but a lifestyle that integrates nutrition, exercise, and psychosocial well-being. It is a model of freedom, based on the 3Ms: movement,mind, and mindful eating. Three simple and scientifically sound principles that restore freedom of choice and responsibility, transforming prevention into a shared path to health and well-being. 

We invite readers to discover the book and reflect with us on how to build new policies and strategies capable of restoring balance, health, and freedom of choice to citizens. Because the challenge of obesity does not only concern the individual: it requires the healthcare system, institutions, and schools to become promoters of a true culture of balance and prevention, capable of accompanying people in their daily choices.