Pizza, pasta, potatoes, protein - how Italian children became so overweight
Italy is facing a significant child obesity crisis, particularly in the south, despite its traditional Mediterranean diet. Medical professionals are seeing younger patients requiring extreme interventions, such as bariatric surgery and weight-loss medication, due to the severity of the health issues.
Why it matters
It highlights a major public health shift in a country historically associated with healthy eating habits.
Pizza, pasta, potatoes, protein - how Italian children became so overweight
Image source, Getty Images By Sofia Bettiza BBC World Service Global Health Reporter Daily life is not easy for Salvatore. At 17, he weighs 170kg (26st 10lb) and struggles to walk.
He can't tie his own shoelaces and his Vespa scooter strains to bear his weight - in one week, its wheels broke seven times.
"He eats constantly," says his mother Anna.
Salvatore is among a growing number of Italian children and teenagers living with obesity. The problem is particularly acute in the south: in parts of the Campania region, more than 40% of eight and nine-year-olds are overweight. The town of Ponticelli, on the outskirts of Naples, has earned the unenviable reputation as one of the world's child obesity capitals.
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