Cascais, Portugal, 20-22 November 2025.
ECPO participated in the EASO & ECN Masterclasses this week, opening the masterclasses with shared lived experiences and delivering a strong call for stigma-free obesity care, more education for all, stronger policy recognition, and greater inclusion of lived experience in clinical and policy environments. The ECPO delegation included Vicki Mooney, Solveig Sigurdardottir, Mia Maloney, and Rhys Courtney Tucker, who each played an important role in advancing these discussions.
Youth Advocates Take Centre Stage
ECPO’s Youth Team members, Mia Maloney and Rhys Courtney Tucker, delivered powerful testimonies during the “Living with Obesity” and Weight Bias & Obesity Stigma workshops.
- Mia Maloney spoke candidly about the persistence of weight stigma and the added challenges of living with both obesity and autism. She highlighted how societal perceptions and communication barriers often silence young people and how that has affected her in her teenage years, reinforcing the urgent need for both compassionate care and inclusive dialogue.
- Rhys Courtney Tucker shared his personal journey navigating childhood with obesity into university life as a young man living with obesity. He discussed the importance of advocacy in shaping better systems and reflected on his new leadership role on the UKCPO Board, demonstrating why representation and youth leadership matter.
Their contributions deeply resonated with participants and added authenticity to complex discussions about stigma, mental health, and systemic change.
ECPO Leadership on Stage for High-Impact Discussion
Together with Vicki Mooney and Solveig Sigurdardottir, Mia and Rhys joined Dr. Ximena Ramos Salas for a live panel session focusing on the real-world impact of stigma and the importance of embedding lived experience into the fabric of obesity care and policy.
The panel was met with strong engagement and positive feedback from attendees, who appreciated the combination of personal insight, policy expertise, and practical recommendations.
A Call for Policy Change and Disease Recognition
Across all sessions, ECPO reinforced its core message:
- Lived experience must be central to obesity policy and clinical decision-making
- Weight stigma remains a major barrier to care and must be addressed at every level
- Obesity should be fully recognised as a chronic, recurring and complex disease
- People across Europe deserve equitable, evidence-based, and non-stigmatising treatment and management pathways
These themes align with ECPO’s long-standing mission to elevate patient voices, inform European policymakers, and advocate for accessible, high-quality care for all people living with obesity.
Strengthening Collaboration Across Europe
ECPO extends its gratitude to EASO and ECN for hosting the masterclasses and creating space for meaningful dialogue between patients, clinicians, youth advocates, and policy leaders.
The event underscored the importance of cross-sector collaboration in driving progress—reminding all participants that true systems change requires listening to those with direct lived experience.