Four members of the Chamber of Deputies’ Health Committee called for progress on measures to prevent and treat childhood obesity, according to Cooperativa. They are Catalina Del Real (Republican Party), Macarena Santelices (UDI-affiliated independent), Roberto Arroyo and Lilian Betancurt, both from the People’s Party (PDG).
The request follows the results of the 2025 Nutritional Map from the National Board of School Assistance and Scholarships (Junaeb). According to the report, 51.7% of the students assessed have excess weight. In other words, more than half of the schoolchildren measured are overweight or have obesity.
Within that group, 24.8% live with obesity, equivalent to roughly one in four students assessed. Excess weight includes both overweight and obesity, with the latter representing the more advanced form of weight accumulation.
In response to these figures, the lawmakers proposed strengthening primary care, meaning local clinics and family health centers, as well as scrutinizing public policies aimed at children and adolescents.
Deputy Del Real sent formal requests for information to the Ministries of Health, Education and Sport, as well as Junaeb. She requested information on obesity trends, program coverage and budgets, compliance with healthy eating regulations, physical activity and gaps between regions.
Santelices emphasized prevention and the role of families and schools. "We cannot wait until a child develops a serious condition before intervening," she said. She added that healthy habits must be restored from childhood and that schools need to provide real opportunities for physical activity.
Arroyo and Betancurt focused on another aspect: the public health network’s capacity to care for those already living with overweight or obesity. Both argued that strategies must account for geographic and economic differences between households.
Cooperativa’s report does not specify deadlines for the ministries to respond or concrete legislative proposals. The next steps depend on the responses from Health, Education, Sport and Junaeb to Del Real’s formal requests, which should provide data on coverage, budgets and regional gaps.
