In a statement, the Médio Tejo ULS, based in Torres Novas, Santarém district, states that the Multidisciplinary Obesity Team (EMO) involves professionals from different clinical areas and levels of care, ranging from hospital care to primary healthcare.

"Obesity is not about willpower or only individual choices. It is a chronic, complex disease, often marked by silent suffering, stigma, and delays in care," said coordinator Cristina Gonçalves in the press release.

The EMO brings together specialists—general and family physicians managing primary care, internal medicine physicians overseeing complex diagnoses, general surgeons addressing surgical needs, nutritionists providing dietary guidance, psychologists supporting mental health, and nurses coordinating patient care—enabling a more comprehensive, person-centred approach. The coordinator stresses the importance of integrated prevention, treatment, and follow-up.

"This team treats each person with knowledge, respect, and an integrated clinical response," added the coordinator, who leads the Diabetes and Obesity Service at the Médio Tejo Local Health Unit, Tomar hospital.

According to the ULS, the wide range of areas involved facilitates coordination between specialities and between primary and hospital care, promoting more effective and personalised responses.

The creation of the team is part of the implementation of the National Programme for the Prevention and Management of Obesity and the Integrated Care Pathway for People with Obesity within the National Health Service, against a backdrop of the condition's high prevalence and its impact on quality of life.

“The creation of this team represents an important step in strengthening the National Health Service’s response to a disease with a significant impact on public health,” noted Casimiro Ramos, chairman of the board of directors of the Médio Tejo Local Health Unit.

He also stressed that “multidisciplinary work and coordination between different levels of care are fundamental to ensuring more effective, integrated responses that are closer to the people”.

According to ULS Médio Tejo, the team has been structured to ensure an integrated, continuous and patient-centred approach, including appropriate referral for non-surgical or surgical treatment, whenever clinically indicated.

The Médio Tejo Local Health Unit manages three hospitals – Abrantes, Tomar and Torres Novas – and 35 primary healthcare centres, providing direct care to around 170,000 patients in the municipalities of Abrantes, Alcanena, Constância, Entroncamento, Ferreira do Zêzere, Mação, Sardoal, Tomar, Torres Novas, Vila Nova da Barquinha and Vila de Rei, in the districts of Santarém and Castelo Branco.