Youth leaders meet in Norway to discuss policy solutions to childhood obesity
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By 2030, obesity will affect over 100 million children and over 150 million adolescents worldwide. This weekend, 70 young change-makers are meeting outside of Oslo, Norway, to share and co-create policy ideas addressing the rising obesity across Europe.
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Go to the home pageThe conference is organised by the European funded CO-CREATE project which explores innovative ways to co-create policy solutions to obesity with young people.
Since 2018, CO-CREATE has worked with adolescents to create, inform, and share policy ideas to address obesity and foster healthier food and physical activity environments. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, CO-CREATE has connected young people in Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom (UK) online through national and regional Dialogues at prominent global events including the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021.
Documentary and Dialogue Forum
This latest conference will include a launch of a CO-CREATE Youth Declaration and will have the first live showcase a CO-CREATE Documentary ‘You(th) matter – co-creating policies to prevent childhood obesity which puts a spotlight on youth engagement in policy making and presents insight from young people, policymakers, civil society and academics.
In addition, a public version of an innovative Dialogue Forum tool that was developed by EAT to connect youth, and to give them a framework to collaborate with decision makers to discuss an idea or intervention in their community will be launched.
In Norway, dialogues have been held between youth and stakeholders to discuss the marketing of unhealthy food to children and youth under the age of 18, the introduction of free and healthy school meals for all children and youth to align with upcoming government programmes and concerns about regulation of the digital environment.
‘Show that you need help, value our opinions’
There is growing recognition of the power of young people and their role as important change makers in policy, not just in obesity but in food systems, climate change and human rights, amongst other.
As Pedro Goncalves, a CO-CREATE Youth Task Force, member says ‘If we take a quick look at the world, especially at the young people, you see that ours is a very active generation. One essential thing to motivate young people is visibility – show that you need help, value our opinions. That is the most important thing. To show and tell you need help, that there is an opportunity for them to speak up, and we will do the rest.’
Young people will be able to use the forthcoming conference to network, share ideas and attend workshops to learn more about how to transform their ideas and advocate for their policy demands.
Leading youth organisation representatives from around the world, including PRESS, Bite Back 2030, NCD Child and Act4Food Act4Change, as well as researchers, will all join as well to share their own experiences of achieving political change in their communities.
Estimated percentage of children (age 5-9y) with excess bodyweight (obesity):
|
2020 (%) |
2020 (No) |
2030 (%) |
2030 (No) |
|
|
Europe |
12.59 |
7,269,572 |
16.20 |
8,509,917 |
|
World |
10.82 |
74,411,872 |
15.44 |
102,981,818 |
Estimated percentage of children (age 10-19y) with excess bodyweight (obesity):
|
2020 (%) |
2020 (No) |
2030 (%) |
2030 (No) |
|
|
Europe |
8.18 |
8,794,208 |
11.13 |
12,666,270 |
|
World |
6.92 |
86,070,052 |
11.40 |
150,397,337 |
Source: World Obesity Atlas, 2022
Further Reading
- Visit the CO-CREATE project website
- World Obesity Day and World Obesity Atlas 2022 is accessible here
- The CO-CREATE Youth Declaration accessible here.
- The CO-CREATE Documentary accessible here.
The CO-CREATE project is funded with a grant from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Research Programme for Sustainable Food Security. The products of the research are the responsibility of the authors: the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of them.
