Italy Faces Childhood Obesity Crisis Amidst Declining Mediterranean Diet

Daily life is not easy for 17-year-old Salvatore. His weight is 170 kg and it is difficult for him to walk normally. He cannot tie his own shoelaces. His Vespa scooter could not bear his weight, resulting in seven flat tires in a week. 'He eats something or the other all day long,' said his mother Anna.

Salvatore is one of thousands of children and adolescents suffering from obesity in Italy. This problem is particularly severe in southern Italy. In some parts of the Campania region, more than 40 percent of children aged 8-9 are overweight. Ponticelli, a suburb of Naples, is becoming known as one of the capitals of childhood obesity in the world.