Community nutrition and physical activity (CoNPA) – Liselotte Schäfer Elinder's research group

Dietary habits and physical activity are among the most important determinants of health and well-being. An unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle greatly increase the risk for chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and premature death. Increasing physical activity and improving dietary habits to be healthier and more sustainable can contribute to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Part of the:

Research areas

Our research covers population surveys and multilevel and mixed-methods health promotion research regarding dietary habits and physical activity with a universal or targeted approach. Our projects are carried out in settings such as child health care, schools and in settings for adults with disabilities.  

We perform: 

  • Epidemiological studies of dietary habits and physical activity and their determinants, in relation to health outcomes. 
  • Interdisciplinary research on the development, implementation and evaluation including cost-effectiveness of interventions to promote health and prevent obesity and chronic diseases globally including Sweden, Burkina Faso, Kenya and Tanzania   
  • Commissioned assignments from external partners within the groups research competence. 

Latest research and activities

Publications

Selected publications

Staff and contact

Group leader

Contact persons

All members of the group

Profile image

Elisa Gobbo

Phd Student

Research projects

Current research projects

IMPROVE
Portrait of Klara Olofsdotter Lauri. Photo: Martin Stenmark

IMPROVE

Wide-scale Implementation and evaluation of the school-based family support Programme – A Healthy School Start Plus to prevent Overweight and obesity.

Changemaker
Female school teacher in classroom with smiling learner student hand raised Photo: Getty Images

Changemaker

A project aiming to implement and evaluate a sustainable health intervention on health, nutrition, and environmental outcomes for primary prevention of adolescent obesity and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Co-fam
Model for the research project Co-fam, A partnership model for health promotion and early prevention and treatment of obesity Photo: Figure

Co-fam

A partnership model for health promotion and early prevention and treatment of obesity

School Food Sweden (SkolmatSverige)
A girl with two broccolis in front of the eyes Photo: Getty Images.

School Food Sweden (SkolmatSverige)

A web-based tool that can help evaluate and develop the quality of school meals from a holistic perspective.

Archived projects

Education and teaching

The group members participate in third-level education at undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level in the areas of public health nutrition and physical activity, intervention and implementation research, global health and health economics.  

Liselotte Schäfer Elinder is the course leader and lecturer for the course: Theories and methods in implementation and evaluation in the master program for public health/health promotion at KI (7 ECTS).  

Kristi Sidney Annerstedt is the course leader and lecturer for the course: Global Health Economics given to doctoral students at KI (3 ECTS).  

Collaboration

MISTRA Sustainable consumption: The biggest research programme in Sweden on sustainable consumption 

Today it is relatively widely known that consumption in countries such as Sweden is not sustainable. A great deal of the environmental impact of Swedish consumption takes place abroad, in the countries where the goods are produced. At the same time, there is a shortage of research into what sustainable consumption really means and how we can convert towards this – as individuals, as companies, through civil society organisations and through politics. The goal of the research programme MISTRA Sustainable Consumption – from niche to mainstream is to contribute to the transition by means of increased knowledge of how sustainable consumption, which is at present practised by a few, can be scaled up and become more common. The focus is on the areas of food, holidays and home furnishings and fittings.

Read more about the research programme MISTRA  Sustainable Consumption.

Keywords:
Behavioral Disciplines and Activities Community-Based Participatory Research Diet, Food, and Nutrition Early Medical Intervention Epidemiology Show all
Content reviewer:
Liselotte Schäfer Elinder
12-05-2025