Overview

This chapter describes how the issue of young people’s health and well-being in Italy is addressed, as well as the interventions and measures implemented across the country.

The Italian health system is co-managed by the State and the Regions. 

However, numerous other public and private bodies are also responsible for providing services aimed at promoting the psycho-physical well-being of young people, in line with the principle that health promotion and protection should be conceived as an interactive process involving government institutions and civil society. 

The factors that negatively affect young people’s health are generally linked to widespread lifestyle patterns, including unhealthy diets, sedentary behaviour, cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse and substance use. These elements hinder the achievement of health understood – consistently with the World Health Organization definition – as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. It is precisely these factors that Italy seeks to address through coordinated action and cross-sectoral stakeholder involvement, by implementing projects and interventions that promote healthy lifestyles among young people, with a focus on prevention and health education.