HEALTH

Background According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) represent a leading threat to human health and socioeconomic development. Cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes cause an estimated 35 million deaths each year, 80% of which occur in low- and middleincome countries. The already heavy burden caused by NCDs, along with the fact that the majority of these deaths are premature and could be averted, provide a strong public health and policy imperative to act.Unhealthy diet is a key modifiable risk factor for NCDs. Unless addressed, unhealthy diets — in conjunction with other risk factors — increase NCD prevalence in populations through raised blood pressure, raised blood glucose, abnormal blood lipids and overweight/obesity. While deaths from NCDs primarily occur in adulthood, the risks associated with unhealthy diet begin in childhood and build up throughout life. Furthermore, overweight and obesity now ranks as the fifth leading risk for death globally. It is estimated that in 2010 more than 42 million children under the age of five years are overweight or obese, of whom nearly 35 million are living in developing countries. Overweight during childhood and adolescence is associated not only with an increased risk of adult obesity and NCDs, but also with a number of immediate health-related problems, such as hypertension and insulin resistance. Childhood overweight and obesity are on the rise in Europe. According to the WHO, 1 in 3 children aged 6-9 years were overweight (incl. obesity) in 2010; up from 1 in 4 children of the same age in 2008. A new report from WHO/Europe finds that many existing policies and regulations aimed at tackling food marketing to children are markedly insufficient, meaning children continue to be exposed to commercial messages promoting foods high in fats, salt and sugar. The report, which reviews best available evidence on policy implementation in the WHO European Region, finds that around half of the 53 countries in the Region have taken some steps to limit marketing of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) foods to children. A few countries have adopted legally binding rules, which specifically restrict HFSS food marketing in certain media, at certain times. Others are attempting to address the challenge of digital marketing. However, many countries still report no action, and an overwhelming preference for self-regulation by the food and advertising industries remains – an approach that is often found wanting by independent review. Today’s food environment is quite different to that experienced by previous generations. Globally, an extensive variety of food and drink products are now available in most markets, offering palatability, convenience and novelty. But at the same time, the wide availability and heavy marketing of many of these products, and especially those with a high content of fat, sugar or salt, challenge efforts to eat healthily and maintain a healthy weight, particularly in children. Advertising and other forms of food and beverage marketing to children are extensive and primarily concern products with a high content of fat, sugar or salt. Evidence shows that television advertising influences children’s food preferences, purchase requests and consumption patterns. Further, a wide range of techniques are used to market these products, reaching children in schools, nurseries, and supermarkets; through television and the Internet; and in many other settings, therefore by engaging in this project young people will be more aware of choices they make in relation to their own health and wellbeing. Objectives The general goals for this project include: - promotes Mental health and well being - promotes the participation of young people and enables their personal development through non formal education - promotes European citizenship - develops communication, team working and other skills and behaviours which will increase their future opportunities and ultimate employability - enables intercultural dialogue. - promotes inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities. - overcomes stereotypes / xenophobia and encourages tolerance among young people by focusing on shared identities, culture and heritage. The project intended to involve young people and make them aware of the consequences for unhealthy diets and highlight how traditional and new media would market products with a high content of fat, sugar or salt, without any regulation or control from national policies in place. Moreover, the project wanted to target groups of young people from Italy, Greece and Ireland who would highly benefit from the information and the exchange with peers with a different cultural background. In relation to the engagement and empowerment of young people, we expected to: - Enhance their participation in democratic and civic life in Europe; - Enable them to connect with, express their views and be heard by elected policy makers, public administrations, interest groups, civil society organisations or individuals active in political or social processes affecting their lives; - Enhance critical thinking and media literacy among young people to strengthen democracy and counter manipulation, propaganda and disinformation; - Broaden and deepen political, civic and social participation of young people at local, regional, national, European or global level; - Foster active citizenship and notably volunteering and solidarity among young people; - Increase social inclusion of all young people, building on European values; - Promote intercultural dialogue and promote knowledge about and acceptance of diversity and tolerance in society; - Strengthen young people's sense of initiative; - Reinforce links between policy, research and practice and promote better knowledge about the situation of young people and youth policies. Implementation We have carried out: N°1 International Training course; N°2 large youth exchanges; N°3 local food workshops, one in each country N°1 food festival in Ireland N°3 coordination meeting, including mid-term and final evaluation meeting Achievements The project allowed participating organisations to develop and reinforce their network, increasing our capacity to operate transnationally. Each organisation has been positively influenced from the exposure to each partner’s practise, mission and values. In the medium term (three years, considering the granted project extension) the members of the project team have grown professionally by exchanging critical feedback and views regarding the work with young people, especially about current challenges and threats. In relation to the expected outcome - Greater knowledge of positive mental health - participants have learned positive routines that they can introduce into their daily life in order to tackle mental health issues and become less vulnerable to any form of depression or similar. We had the opportunity to talk about the importance of being regularly detached by social media and smartphones on a daily basis, especially while sharing food and being seated at the same table. In relation to the expected outcome - Increased awareness of consequences of engaging in risky behaviours - participants and leaders have developed a stronger attitude in relation to risk assessment and risk-taking habits. Throughout the project, we could connect the topic of healthy diets to the risk of assuming too much sugar and fat that our bodies cannot properly digest and consume. Youth workers and leaders have honed their observation skills while supporting or facilitating activities for young people, having now more tools to communicate effectively with young people and share preoccupations and anxiety on a peer level, listening to each other without judging. In relation to the enhancement of teamwork and communication skills, all the participating youth teams have trained those competences in many ways and stages of the project. They have learned various positions and roles being part of a team, they’ve learned how tasks can be distributed and the importance of giving yourself a deadline to complete a certain task. They have brainstormed ideas to come up with original recipes, mixing up the new knowledge about healthy diets with their own tradition. Each youth team has designed and developed a local food workshop in their country: The Italian participants have organized a local workshop inviting over 50 guests among friends and siblings. They have organized a full day by presenting the HEALTH project to various peer groups, offer cooking show and games to the guests, and, last, they have closed down the day with a self-organized DJ-SET. Furthermore, the groups have self-organized their own cooking sessions for the food festival in Ireland, they have created their own menus and organized themselves in the kitchen as a real professional kitchen brigade. Participants have turned enthusiasts by playing and learning in the kitchen. We believe this activity will help them in the future to keep an open mind about food in the future. choosing for more vegetable options, thinking more critically while purchasing or buying products. Young people felt that participation in this project gave them greater resilience and increased their independence as it was the first time many of them had the opportunity to travel abroad without family. This also in turn enhanced their life skills both by having to take care of their basic needs and also by participation in a variety of workshops which thought them skills of food preparation, cooking, serving etc.. Generally, we have observed growth in autonomy and independence, from the way young people have interacted at the start of the project to their being more and more participative as we were implementing all different project activities. They have established relationships with peers from other countries, which will help them better define their personal identity in relation to their social groups and, hopefully, stimulate further self-development. Also, we have observed in participating groups more enthusiasm and desire for traveling and discovering new cultures and places, while before the implementation of the mobility activities, we have acknowledged boundaries in self-esteem and a certain lack of confidence in relation to a new experience.