Improving food and physical activity environments to build a stronger European Health Union
Jun 15, 2021Approximately 41 million children between the ages 5-19 years old were affected by overweight or obesity across Europe in 2016, a 12% increase since 2010.
That number is set to reach 10 million by 2030. Often moralised as an individual or parental failure, childhood obesity is in reality predominantly driven by commercial and biological forces beyond individual control. The message is clear: innovative interventions are urgently needed to halt the childhood obesity epidemic.
We welcome you to the first event of the World Café series hosted by European projects STOP, CO-CREATE, PEN and Best-ReMaP. Dr Mojca Gabrijelcic and Prof Wolfgang Ahrens will facilitate a discussion to identify solutions to the crucial question: how can we improve food and physical activity environments to build a stronger European Health Union?
The event will explore policies, policy monitoring tools and engage participants for an interactive panel discussion and Q&A sessions.
- Date: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
- Time: 15:00-16:00 CEST
Objectives:
- To increase understanding of the best practices in reducing marketing of unhealthy food products to children
- To explore public policies that hold promise for improving physical inactivity
- To showcase physical activity policy monitoring tools and the variation in strategies designed to foster environments that promote active living.
- To discuss to what extent diet and physical activity-related determinants of childhood obesity are drivers of health inequality
- Dr Liam Kelly, Policy Evaluation Network (PEN), University of Limerick, Ireland
- Dr Mojca Gabrijelcic, Head of the Centre for Analyses and Development of Health, National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Slovenia
- Joanna Zukowska, Gdansk University of Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Poland
- Kate Oldridge Turner, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, World Cancer Research Fund International, United Kingdom
- Kevin Volf, PAfH, PESS, University of Limerick, Republic of Ireland
- Margarida Bica, Nutritionist, National Programme for the Promotion of Healthy Eating, The Directorate General of Health, Portugal
- Professor Wolfgang Ahrens, Deputy Director, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology, Germany
Agenda:
(all timings are in displayed in CEST)
15:00 - 15:10 Welcome and introductions - Dr Mojca Gabrijelcic
15:10 - 15:20 Best practices in reducing marketing of unhealthy food products – Margarida Bica
Q&A
15:25 - 15:35 An examination of the public policies that hold promise for increasing population levels of physical activity – Dr Liam Kelly, Kevin Wolf, Joanna Zukowska
15:35 - 15:40 MOVING: supporting policymakers, researchers, and civil society organisations to advocate for active lifestyles – Kate Oldridge Turner
Q&A
15:45 - 15:55 Panel discussion – diet and physical activity-related determinants as drivers of health inequalities
Moderator: Professor Wolfgang Ahrens
15:55 - 16:00 Closing remarks, Professor Wolfgang Ahrens
This event has received support from two projects receiving funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grants agreement No 774210 and 774548, the European Union’s Health Programme, and the Joint Programming Initiative.