France is launching a new national strategy to combat rising obesity rates and improve long-term care access, released January 15th. The multi-faceted plan, building on previous initiatives, prioritizes early detection, strengthened specialized care networks-including support for the country’s 42 specialized obesity centers-and enhanced training for healthcare professionals. This roadmap acknowledges obesity as a chronic disease and aims for a “graduated approach” to care, tailored to individual needs and integrating social and medical services.
New Strategy Aims to Address Obesity as a Chronic Condition
Table of Contents
- New Strategy Aims to Address Obesity as a Chronic Condition
- Defined Goals: Four Objectives, Three Focus Areas, and a Graduated Approach
- Eight Measures and Twenty-Two Actions: Early Detection, Data, Networks, and Access
- Medications and Innovation: A Cautious Approach
- Training: From Specialized Degrees to Continuing Education
- Measuring Impact in the Face of High Prevalence and Heterogeneous Indicators
- References
Building on previous initiatives – the 2010-2013 Obesity Plan and a 2019-2022 roadmap – the new strategy seeks to strengthen secondary and tertiary prevention efforts and reduce healthcare disparities. The plan outlines four objectives, three key areas of focus, and eight measures, broken down into 22 specific actions. This comprehensive approach emphasizes the organization of care pathways, improved data collection, and enhanced skills for healthcare providers.
The strategy acknowledges a critical clinical point: “Obesity is a complex, chronic disease.”
The roadmap is presented as a “living framework” intended to evolve based on the needs and realities on the ground, with the goal of ensuring “early, equitable, and sustainable” access to care and support, according to the plan’s introductory statement.
Defined Goals: Four Objectives, Three Focus Areas, and a Graduated Approach
The document sets four objectives to be achieved by 2030:
“Contribute to reversing the trend in the population affected by obesity and improving the health of people living with obesity”; “Increase the number of people accessing personalized care, locally and over the long term”; “Develop the number of stakeholders aware and increase the number of trained professionals”; and “Leverage successful pathways and innovative care approaches, covering the different levels of graduated care.”
To achieve these objectives, public action is structured around three key areas: early detection and referral, strengthening care networks with support from specialized obesity centers (CSOs), and equipping healthcare professionals and other stakeholders.
The emphasis on a “graduated approach” aligns with guidance from the French National Authority for Health (HAS), which recommends a “personalized and graduated” care pathway based on levels of need, from primary care to specialized expertise, integrating social and medical-social services, adapted physical activity, and workplace health.
Eight Measures and Twenty-Two Actions: Early Detection, Data, Networks, and Access
Early Detection: Focus on Children, Schools, and Workplace Health
The first area of focus combines detection and referral. Specific actions include raising awareness among maternal and child health centers (PMI) to identify and refer children aged 0 to 6, organizing detection programs in schools, and collaborating with occupational health services to facilitate referrals to appropriate care pathways.
Data: Addressing Gaps and Improving Coding
The document highlights a structural deficiency in data tracking: some prevalence data “are not currently available due to a lack of systematic tracking in the National Health Data System (SNDS).” To address this, one measure aims to “assess the conditions for collecting and processing data,” with a focus on anonymized digitization for epidemiological analysis.
Another key task is improving data quality and coding within the PMSI (a French hospital billing system) to better monitor care, characterize the complexity of cases, and ultimately measure the impact of interventions.
Networks and CSOs: Consolidating the Territorial Architecture
The second area of focus aims to strengthen obesity care networks and support their regional organization, leveraging the expertise of CSOs. The strategy highlights progress made in 2025, with “additional recognition of CSOs bringing their number to 42.” The operational challenge is to ensure clear referral pathways, organize connections between adult, pediatric, and surgical care, and support multidisciplinary team meetings.
Access to Care: Transportation, Nutrition Support, and Complex Cases
The roadmap also addresses a frequently reported barrier to care: access for individuals with “very complex” cases due to body size or limited mobility. Two specific actions are proposed: “improving access to adapted transportation” and “developing SMR Nutrition services, for adults and children.”
Medications and Innovation: A Cautious Approach
The roadmap extends beyond care pathway reorganization to address innovations, particularly the emergence of anti-obesity medications. The document mentions a position on “supporting the prescription of obesity medications,” acknowledging “established benefits” while calling for vigilance regarding potential risks, including nutritional concerns and misuse.
The expansion of prescription access to primary care physicians represents a significant organizational shift. Le Monde reports that, as of June 23, 2025, general practitioners can prescribe Wegovy and Mounjaro, previously restricted to specialists, amid ongoing debates about cost, reimbursement, and the need for rigorous monitoring (physical activity, dietary guidance, and prevention of weight regain after stopping medication).
For healthcare providers, the issue isn’t solely pharmaceutical; it relates to the place of these treatments within a graduated care pathway and the capacity of care networks to ensure safe and appropriate use. A recent analysis published December 11, 2025, details the reimbursement framework for tirzepatide (Mounjaro) in severe obesity and the “second-line” positioning discussed by the HAS, highlighting the tension between therapeutic promise and care organization.
Training: From Specialized Degrees to Continuing Education
The third area of focus addresses training and equipping professionals. The roadmap notes a capacity gap: “2 to 3,000 healthcare professionals are trained in DES EDN [a specialized degree],” but these programs “have limited focus on nutrition.” It also mentions the disappearance of a specialized nutrition degree and notes “approximately 500 additional healthcare professionals” who have received supplemental training.
Beyond initial training, several actions focus on continuing education and evolving curricula, particularly for dietitians, to align skills, practices, and care organization with real-world needs.
Measuring Impact in the Face of High Prevalence and Heterogeneous Indicators
The roadmap is set against a backdrop of documented, but sometimes difficult-to-compare, epidemiological data. Santé publique France, through its Health Barometers from 1996 to 2017, shows a historical increase in self-reported obesity in France, with marked increases over time (based on self-reported data).
Recent estimates converge on a significant burden: according to the French Obesity Association, the OFÉO study (2024) estimates that 48.8% of the French population is overweight or obese, and that “nearly 18%” of adults are obese, representing approximately 6 million people.
In this context, the ambition to improve data monitoring, expand access to care, and reduce territorial inequalities will require clarifying comparable indicators (self-reported vs. measured, populations covered) and ensuring that accessible care is available in every region, from primary care to specialized centers.
References
1) Service d’information du Gouvernement (info.gouv.fr), Obésité : de nouveaux objectifs pour améliorer la prise en charge d’ici à 2030, 15/01/2026. https://www.info.gouv.fr/actualite/obesite-de-nouveaux-objectifs-pour-ameliorer-la-prise-en-charge-d-ici-2030
2) Ministère de la Santé et de l’Accès aux soins (sante.gouv.fr), Prise en charge des personnes en situation d’obésité – Feuille de route 2026-2030 (PDF), janvier 2026 (mise en ligne mi-janvier 2026). https://sante.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/fdr_obesite.pdf
3) Haute Autorité de santé (HAS), Guide du parcours de soins : surpoids et obésité de l’adulte, mise à jour février 2024. https://www.has-sante.fr/jcms/p_3408871/fr/guide-du-parcours-de-soins-surpoids-et-obesite-de-l-adulte
4) Santé publique France, Évolution de la corpulence déclarée dans les Baromètres de Santé publique France de 1996 à 2017, Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomadaire (BEH) n°15, 10/09/2024. https://beh.santepubliquefrance.fr/beh/2024/15/2024_15_1.html
5) Caducee.net, Les chiffres de l’obésité en France, dernière modification 19/08/2025. https://www.obesitefrance.fr/lobesite-cest-quoi/les-chiffres-de-lobesite-en-france
6) Le Monde, Wegovy, Mounjaro… : les médicaments antiobésité arrivent chez les médecins généralistes, 22/08/2025. https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2025/08/22/wegovy-mounjaro-les-medicaments-antiobesite-debarquent-chez-les-medecins-generalistes_6633343_3224.html
7) Caducee.net, Obésité sévère : Mounjaro remboursé après échec nutritionnel et prescription spécialisée – décryptage de l’avis HAS, 11/12/2025. https://www.caducee.net/actualite-medicale/16721/obesite-severe-mounjaro-rembourse-apres-echec-nutritionnel-et-prescription-specialisee-decryptage-de-l-avis-has.html
8) Caducee.net, Wegovy : l’équilibre fragile entre espoir thérapeutique, mésusage et dérive économique, 18/10/2024. https://www.caducee.net/actualite-medicale/16451/wegovy-l-equilibre-fragile-entre-espoir-therapeutique-mesusage-et-derive-economique.html
9) Caducee.net, Prise en charge de l’obésité : l’innovation en Force, 05/03/2024. https://www.caducee.net/actualite-medicale/16307/prise-en-charge-de-l-obesite-l-innovation-en-force.html
