As an organization committed to ensuring that individuals and citizens have access to high-quality and equitable healthcare services, we at the Foundation have been working tirelessly to address the issue of access to obesity health service delivery and reimbursement in Belgium. In line with our mission, we recently submitted our response to the Open Consultation for revision of the Belgian Patient Rights Legislation.

Our efforts have been informed by citizen-led research conducted in partnership with Vrije Universiteit Brussel and KU Leuven, which has demonstrated that a majority of people living with the biology of obesity in Belgium are not aware of their condition. Shockingly, many believe that once they lose weight, obesity no longer exists. Furthermore, individuals are often unaware that they can seek medical help for diagnosis, acute treatment, and long-term management.

Given these findings, we strongly advocate for the expansion of the term "patients" to include "individuals, citizens, and patients." This will ensure that the 60% of the population who are currently falling out of scope are included in the legislation and have access to the care they need. We believe that this change is crucial to achieving our mission of providing high-quality and equitable healthcare services to all citizens of Belgium.