The project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, and will be led by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The project engages international partners from different policy-contexts in Europe and elsewhere, and thus consortium members are from a range of countries: Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Portugal and Poland, with input also from outside of Europe in Australia, the USA and South Africa.

Objectives

• The project will apply largescale datasets, policy monitoring tools, novel analytical approaches and youth involvement to provide new efficient strategies, tools and programmes for promoting sustainable and healthy dietary behaviours and lifestyles.
• The project will generate knowledge and innovative tools for assessing actual policy implementation, strategies for empowering adolescents; and strategies for identifying, implementing and monitoring relevant policy programmes to stakeholders involved in the European efforts to tackle childhood obesity.
• The project will apply a systems approach to provide a better understanding of how factors associated with obesity interact at various levels.
• The project will focus on adolescence as the specific target group. It sees this as a crucial age with increasing autonomy and the next generation of adults, parents and policymakers, and thus important agents for change. CO-CREATE will involve and empower adolescents and youth organizations in order to foster a participatory process of identifying and formulating relevant policies, deliberating such options with other private and public actors, promoting relevant policy agenda and tools and strategies for implementation.
• The project will strengthen interdisciplinary research and have an inclusive multi-actor approach with involvement of academics, policy makers, civil society, relevant industry and market actors to ensure longlasting implementation of the results.
• The project will reflect and build on a number of existing initiatives and platforms, including the extensive research activity from consortium members.
• The project will have a strong gender profile and consider the relevance of geographic, socio-economic, behaviour and cultural factors.