ENERGY

ENERGY stands for EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth.

The overall aim of the ENERGY‐project is the development and formative evaluation of a school‐based, family‐involved intervention scheme to promote healthful energy balance‐related behaviours (EBRBs) in school‐aged children from countries located in different regions of Europe. The primary target group is children aged 10‐12, i.e. youth in the transition between childhood and adolescence. Secondary intermediate target groups are their parents and school staff.

In the first phase of the ENERGY‐project, different methods have been applied to inform the intervention development, including systematic reviews, focus group interviews, secondary analyses of existing data sets, as well as original survey research.

The results of the qualitative and quantitative research were used to inform the development of the measurement instruments for the large‐scale cross‐sectional study that was conducted from April to July 2010 (second phase). We assessed weight, EBRBs and potential determinants of these behaviours with the above‐mentioned instruments among 6980 children and their parents in seven countries in Europe. Large differences between countries were found with regard to (over)weight status and EBRBs, e.g. diet, physical activity, intake of sugar‐sweetened beverages, breakfast habits, active transport to school, and TV and computer time.

Currently, the ENERGY‐project is developing the school‐based, family‐involved intervention, targeting the most relevant EBRBs and their personal, family‐environmental and school‐environmental determinants. Results from the first and second phase will be used to inform the development of this intervention, which will be formatively evaluated in five countries in Autumn 2011.

 

The Obesity Related Behaviours (ORB) Research Group was responsible for undertaking a rigorous systematic review to identify the most important energy balance-related behaviours. For more details please look at the project website (http://www.projectenergy.eu/) or contact Helen Moore or Wayne Douthwaite.

 

Papers of interest related to the ENERGY‐project: 1. Evidence‐based development of school‐based and family‐involved prevention of overweight across Europe: The ENERGY‐project's design and conceptual framework. Johannes Brug, Saskia te Velde, Mai JM Chin A Paw, Elling Bere, Ilse de Bourdeaudhuij, Helen Moore, Lea Maes, Jorgen Jensen, Yannis Manios, Nanna Lien, Knut‐Inge Klepp, Tim Lobstein, Marloes Martens, Jo Salmon and Amika S Singh. BMC Public Health, 2010, 10:276. 2. EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth (ENERGY) project: Design and methodology of the ENERGY cross‐sectional survey. Maartje M van Stralen, Saskia J te Velde, Amika S Singh, Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij, Marloes K Martens, Maria van der Sluis, Yannis Manios, Evangelia Grammatikaki, Mai JM Chinapaw, Lea Maes, Elling Bere, Jorgen Jensen, Luis Moreno, Natasa Jan, Denes Molnar, Helen Moore, Johannes Brug. BMC Public Health 2011, 11:65. 3. Study protocol of physical activity and sedentary behaviour measurement among school‐children by accelerometry – Cross‐sectional survey as part of the ENERGY project. Yıldırım M, Verloigne M, de Bourdeaudhuij I, Androutsos O, Manios Y, Felso R, Kovacs E, Doessegger A, Bringolf‐Isler B, te Velde SJ, Brug J, Chinapaw MJM.BMC Public Health, in press.

 

The ENERGY‐project is funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (CORDIS FP7) of the European Commission, HEALTH. Return to Past and Present Research Projects