PREVENT
PREVENT is an EU-funded collaborative initiative aimed at scaling up the primary prevention of cancer by addressing childhood and adolescent obesity. The project combines innovative technology with child-led data collection and active engagement strategies to promote healthier dietary habits from a young age.
Childhood obesity is a critical public health issue with long-term consequences, including an increased risk of cancer in adulthood. The PREVENT project, funded by the European Commission's Horizon Europe program, aims to address this by improving primary prevention strategies for childhood and adolescent obesity.
Focusing on schools in Greece, Sweden, and Spain-Catalonia, PREVENT seeks to identify policy gaps and propose tailored solutions. In Sweden, the project will improve school life by:
1. Deploying and optimising the EU School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme. While this program is established in several EU countries, it has not yet been adopted in Swedish schools. The PREVENT is piloting free fruit distribution using smart fruit stands, where children actively report their fruit consumption via a mobile app.
2. Monitoring students’ dietary habits and the nutritional quality of school lunches using a mobile app that allows users to log photos of their meals. This data will be used to compare the lunch quality between students who receive lunch coupons and those who consume standard school-provided meals.
3. Tracking food advertising targeted at youth. Building on previous efforts from the Digifood and Adsafe projects, students will log images of food advertising they encounter, contributing to a broader understanding of marketing influences on dietary behaviour.
Behind the project in Sweden is a joint effort involving several key partners: Karolinska Institutet, Livsmedelsverket, Internationella Engelska Skolan (IES), Stockholm Stad schools, and Arbisense AB (the developer of the mobile app).
Read more about the project at the project website.
PI at KI: Ioannis Ioakeimidis
Project manager at KI: Fernanda Roca