According to European Parliamentary Research Service, "excessive body weight and excessive body fat affect more than one in two adults in the EU and the rates have been rising steadily. The causes are genetic, behavioural, cultural and socioeconomic and are mainly driven by an unbalanced diet and physical inactivity. Furthermore, these conditions are major risk factors for serious chronic illnesses, and account for roughly 7% of EU Member States' healthcare expenditure. EU prevention initiatives broadly target nutrition and physical activity."
Additionally, the EU Action Plan on Obesity 2014-2020 states that apart from the 7% mentioned above, "substantial indirect costs are also incurred from lost productivity arising from work absences due to health problems and premature death. Recent estimates show that around 2.8 million deaths per year in the EU result from causes associated with overweight and obesity." This medical condition obviously affects the quality of life, with repercussions in social, professional and personal sectors.
It is a leading cause of death that can be prevented worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities consider it to be one of the most serious public health problems of the twenty-first century. Obesity is a nutritional and metabolic medical condition, that accumulates excessive body fat, leading to reduced life expectancy and / or health problems. Obesity increases the risk of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, osteoarthritis, and asthma.
This project aims to create the proper scheme to support prevention and early detection of erroneous eating habits, diseases of nutrition, to raise awareness about the problem of unhealthy eating among our communities and to reduce as much as possible its effects. HEALTHY plans to inform and train adults in adopting a healthy lifestyle for themselves and for their children, to fight against obesity, a disease that can cause 10 different types of cancer. Obesity can lead to social stigmatization and professional disadvantage. Compared to people with normal weight, obese employees, on average, have higher rates of absenteeism from work and have extended medical leave, which increases costs for employers and decreases productivity, thus avoiding hiring people that suffer from obesity.
Adults also tend to reward their children with food, giving them a faulty parental model. The lack of a healthy diet in childhood can lead to serious eating disorders that can cause obesity. For example, binge eating disorder is often associated with a specific precipitating event and followed by severe discomfort and self-condemnation. It also develops the idea that food is a remedy when negative feelings like depression, stress, anxiety, loneliness, etc. appear thus making the person suffering from a disorder finding comfort in food. Obesity is often associated with underachievement, low self-esteem and psychological distress.
The project is expected to have 3 major target groups, followed by other collateral ones:
MAJOR target groups:
-DIRECT beneficiaries:
1. adults with bad eating habits, predisposed to having a slow metabolism, leading to gaining weight easily and to become obese, adults with children, giving them a bad example of nutrition, affecting their quality of life;
2. Adult Education organisations, as they are in direct contact with adults from local, regional, national communities, leading to a higher impact of the HEALTHY initiative, providing trainings and formation programs on a frequent level;
3. children of the adults predisposed towards obesity, as they have a faulty example in their parents, falling in the same patterns and behaviours of nutrition.
Specific objectives of the HEALTHY project are:
- To train adults regarding the obesity condition, to fight against inadequate eating habits as a way to prevent obesity;
- To offer guidance and support to people fighting against obesity, especially to parents, teachers, policy makers, stakeholders, dietitians and medical staff;
- To inform communities about the level of gravity regarding the obesity problem at a European level;
- To develop a strategy in preventing obesity and in reducing the number of deaths caused by this medical condition;
- To improve the quality of life of people suffering from obesity;
- To deliver innovative and updated training materials, including new, ICT – based methodologies and use of OER to help transfer the necessary knowledge in preventing obesity;
- To improve the nutritional routine of those who suffer from obesity, by offering them daily solutions regarding smart choices in selecting their diet;
- To use dissemination tools with the purpose of raising awareness concerning obesity, amongst society.
