Promotion of healthy lifestyles in schools: EUmove project

Physical inactivity is a worldwide public challenge and a leading risk factor for weight gain and obesity. Despite the well-recognized benefits of physical activity (PA), only 29% of European youth meet recommended guidelines of at least 60 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous PA. The school setting provides an ideal environment to promote healthy lifestyles among young people as initiatives can target all students and the whole school community. 

The EUMOVE projectis an Erasmus+ Project awarded under the Erasmus+ Sports 2020 call for proposals. The main goal of the EUMOVE project is to design and implement a comprehensive set of strategies and resources to enable the educational community to promote healthy lifestyles in order to reduce risk factors for noncommunicable diseases . This is a 3-year project delivered by a collaboration between 14 academic and nongovernmental institutions from Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Belgium, and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland). Through this e-book, the aim is to share with the educational community some of the resources generated from the project. Specifically, the book is divided into four chapters. 

The first chapter presents a set of strategies for the promotion of active recess in schools, as well as general recommendations for their implementation. This chapter also offers recommendations for the promotion of physical activity through the modification of the physical environment of the school. The second chapter focuses on the promotion of active travel to/from school. This includes a series of recommendations for schools, teachers, parents, and authorities to encourage students to use active forms of travel. In the third chapter , a set of learning units have been developed to promote healthy habits in the out-of-school period. These units are divided according to educational stage; primary or secondary, and are aimed at promoting physical activity, reducing sedentary time, and optimizing eating patterns and sleep time. Finally, chapter 4 is specifically for parents. This chapter offers a series of recommendations for the promotion of healthy habits by parents. The chapter is divided into different sections that address physical activity, sedentary lifestyles, diet, and sleep. Established recommendations for these behaviours are explained and practical strategies that will help children comply with the recommendations are provided. 

In short, this book offers a series of practical resources for the promotion of healthy habits in schools at different times of the school day. All strategies are based on scientific evidence. The general recommendations provided should be adapted to the specific context of each country/locality.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EUMOVE PROJECT