Joint Programming Initiative for A healthy diet for a healthy life

Last Thursday I chaired a meeting of delegates from 20 European countries to discuss a joint programming initiative on Diet, Nutrition & Health. The meeting was organised by the Netherlands Organisation of Health Research and Development and the Netherlands Agency on behalf of four Ministries.

Joint Programming Initiatives are European efforts to coordinate research efforts among member states. Joint Programming offers a voluntary process for a revitalised partnership between the Member States based on clear principles and transparent high-level governance. By enhancing cooperation among those that develop and manage research programmes, it aims to increase the efficiency and impact of national public research funding in strategic areas.

One such Joint Programme Initiative (JPI) that is now being prepared is ‘A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life’. This initiative that we focussed on last Thursday should provide a basis for a scientific research agenda, sup-ported by a common vision and a management structure concerning the global challenges ahead: to shift from a defensive policy combating the global approach promoting health by improving the quality of our diet and nutrition. The JPI has been brought forward by the joined efforts and support of 19 countries and remains open to additional participating countries. The JPI will focus on three broad research themes: lifestyle and social determinants; Within the next months the vision document and a governance structure for this initiative will be further prepared and proposed.

Short research seminar to kick off collaboration between EMGO+ and Philips Research

On March 2 2010, Rob Udink and Wim Stut from Philips research in Eindhoven visited the EMGO Institute for health and Care Research. They provided a short symposium on Philips’ activities in the rationale for and the development of IT-supported tailored Behavioral change interventions to assist and facilitate patients’ self management. This meeting marked the start of a collaborative research project of Philips Research and the EMGO+ Institute in which such behaviour change interventions will be tested and evaluated. The EMGO+ Institute has much expertise on the development, evaluation and implementation of computer-tailored health education.
The collaboration will be materialized in a joint research project that will result in a PhD thesis to be defended at the EMGO+ institute by a research fellow employed by Philips Research.

Seminar at Deakin

Monday night I was kindly invited to give a seminar on behalf of Deakin University's Center for Physical Activity & Nutrition research (C-PAN) at the Cancer Council Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. The title of my talk was "Evidence-based promotion of healthful eating and physical activity in Europe". My talk was mostly on the results derived from the European Commission funded projects HOPE (Health promotion through Obesity Prevention across Europe), Pro Children (promoting fruit and vegetable intakes among children across Europe) and ENERGY (EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excess weight Gain among Youth). I provided an overview of evidence on prevalence and trends in overweight and obesity across Europe as well as of prevalence and trends in behaviors that may increase or reduce the risk of excess weight gain. The larger part of my presentation was on potential determinants of such behaviors and how insight in such determinants may help us to design interventions that can contribute to promotion of more healthful behavioral nutrition and physical activity patterns. It was indeed a pleasure and an honor to give the talk and to be able to discuss some of the findings with Australian colleagues.

A recent systematic review on school-based behavioural nutrition and physical activity interventions.

A recent systematic review on school-based behavioural nutrition and physical activity interventions was published in Obesity Reviews. This review paper was conducted within the Health Promotion through Obesity Prevention across Europe (HOPE) project. Prof. Ilse de Bourdeaudhuij was first author on this paper. The review confirms what has been suggested earlier, i.e. that combining school-based health education with meaningful changes in the school and/or school neighbourhood physical activity and food environments, and that a focus on both sides of the energy balance, i.e. on nutrition and physical activity, give better and more relevant effects. The evidence was strongest for changes in relevant energy balance behaviours and suggestive for changes in weight and weight status. Their was a lack of studies that included good measurements of BMI or other weight status indicators (e.g. waist circumference, skin folds).
The review further suggests that computer-tailored personalized education in the classroom showed better results than a generic classroom curriculum. Environmental interventions might include organized physical activities during breaks, or before and after school; improved availability of physical activity opportunities in and around the school environment; increased physical education lesson time; improved availability or accessibility of healthy food options; and restricted availability and accessibility of unhealthy food options.

12 steps to improve public health?

The UK Faculty of Public Health has proposed 12 "practical steps to tackle serious public health concerns from obesity and heart disease to alcohol and sexually transmitted infections". These steps were proposed to call upon all political parties to introduce robust public health policies to improve the nation's health. The 12 steps are:
1. A minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol sold
2. No junk food advertising in pre-watershed television
3. Ban smoking in cars with children
4. Chlamydia screening for university and college freshers
5. 20 mph limit in built up areas
6. A dedicated school nurse for every secondary school
7. 25% increase in cycle lanes and cycle racks by 2015
8. Compulsory and standardised front-of-pack labelling for all pre-packaged food
9. Olympic legacy to include commitment to expand and upgrade school sports facilities and playing fields across the UK
10. Introduce presumed consent for organ donation
11. Free school meals for all children under 16
12. Stop the use of transfats

In its manifesto, the Faculty of Public Health claims that endorsing these steps will significantly improve the health of the UK population.

Professor Paul van der Maas gives his farewell lecture

On Friday January 29 professor Paul van der Maas gave his final lecture in the main auditorium of the Erasmus University. Prof. van der Maas was professor of Public Health since 1983. He was dean of the Erasmus University Medical Center and chair or member of many key advisory board and committees for public health and public health research in the Netherlands. He has conducted and led cutting edge research projects on cancer screening, aging, and end-of-life care.
Eight of his PhD students are now professors in different areas of public health research, and they have produced a ‘liber amicorum’ for prof. van der Maas.
His final lecture as professor of Public Health stated that public health can be shaped and influenced, but that public health is also fragile; based on the last century one may think that our public health can only go up, given the impressive increases in for example life expectancies in most countries around the world. But great threats to public health such as the growing food shortages, ecological downfall, and emerging infectious diseases will be enormous challenges that public health researchers, policy makers and practitioners will have to face.
Prof. van der Maas ‘retirement’ does not mean that he will not remain active in the field. For one thing, he will chair the grant application committee for the assessment and evaluation of grant applications submitted to the Dutch Cancer Society grant schemes funded by the Alpe D’Huzes foundation.

Professor Winald Gerritsen is inaugurated as professor of medical oncology

Last Friday Winald Gerritsen held his inaugural address to accept his chair in medical oncology at the VU University Medical Center. Before a large audience, the VU University main auditorium was packed, he shared his work, plans and ambitions as related to detection, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
Dr. Gerritsen is director of the Cancer Center Amsterdam that joined forces with the VUmc Insitute for Cancer and Imunology to form CCA/V-ICI, directed by Prof. Peter Huijgens, the largest research institute of the VU University Medical Center next to the EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research.
CCA/V-ICI and EMGO institutes work together in research on cancer rehabilitation in the A-CARE (Alpe D'Huzes Cancer Rehabilitation) program, psychosocial support for cancer patients (led by Professor Irma Verdonck), and on end of life care.

Winald, Irma and myself will all join to participate in this years Alpe D'Huzes event: cycling up and down Alpe D'Huez mountain to raise money for research to improve quality of life for cancer patients and survivors.

See Irma's and my own Alpe D-Huzes action pages for some more information.