a problem arising from modern day society

During the last 50 years the predominance of overweight and obesity has shown a continuous increase with obesity becoming the major nutritional problem in countries with high economic development. The epidemic explosion of obesity has reached such a level that the World Health Organisation regards it as one of the most important sectors requiring intervention for the safeguard of public health.

Obesity can be described as the result of excessive accumulation of fatty tissue in such a measure to determine negative effects on the health. It is a chronic condition which requires constant attention of the professional figures involved in the diagnosis and successive treatment, with an approach to various levels and their integration.

The treatment of obesity requires a multi-discipline implication in which the professional figures work together in guiding the guest. The multi-discipline intervention must allow the subject to understand the cause of his problem and to adapt his lifestyle to reach his aim by progressively modifying the disfunctional behaviour which has contributed to obesity and overweight.
It is possible to treat a patient in hospital but it is difficult to transfer the teaching acquired in hospital to everyday life.

For this reason obesity can benefit from re-educational rehabilitative programmes carried out in a different ambiance, such as a thermal spa resort, which helps to change your lifestyle through interventions on a nutritional, behavioural and motor level.

Based on these considerations the Obesity Section of the Endocrinology Department of the University-Hospital of Pisa has created the “therapeutic-rehabilitative programme for the treatment of obesity and overweight”, which is carried out at Bagni di Pisa Medical Spa Resort.

The primary aim of the programme is to make the obese or overweight subject aware of the behaviour that can be transferred to everyday life to obtain gradual weight loss and to maintain the results in time.