Obesity

Health4EUkids: the role of the Italian National Institute of Health and the work on WP4

The National Centre for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of the Italian Institute of Health is participating in the Joint Action (JA) Health4EUkids by coordinating Work Package 4 (WP4) on "Transferability and Sustainability." The primary goal is to focus on governance and systems, addressing health and equity across all policies at local, regional, national, and community levels, considering society as a whole.

WP4: a framework for action

The first objective achieved by the Italian working group within the JA (Task 4.1) was to conduct a review of the results and recommendations from previous European initiatives, including projects and JAs targeting children aged 0 to 12 years, with particular attention to initiatives combating overweight and obesity. This review was conducted between February and August 2023. The analysis began during the "Kick-off meeting" held in Athens on February 9, 2023, where the participatory World Café methodology was used to identify European initiatives that could meet the objective, with contributions from all partners. Participants in the World Café were asked three questions to stimulate reflection:

1. What experiences from other European projects could contribute to the task's activities?
2. What key elements, methodologies, and content should be considered?
3. What other suggestions and ideas?

In the following months, further projects, meeting the inclusion criteria, were identified. This effort led to the selection and analysis of 11 projects related to promoting children's health and responsive parenting, with particular attention to healthy lifestyles and elements of transferability, scalability, and sustainability. The identified initiatives focused on areas such as obesity/overweight, inequalities, nutrition, public policies, physical activity, and breastfeeding. The main targets identified were policymakers and local authorities, the general population (including families and children), and healthcare professionals. The intervention settings identified included the community, kindergartens, schools, and healthcare services.

Guiding Criteria: A Framework for Action

The final product of the task is a conclusive report, highlighting a set of criteria derived from the conclusions and lessons learned from previous initiatives to support the implementation of best practices, and reflecting the need to address obesity and overweight comprehensively. From the examination of available documentation of the selected projects, the emerging elements were synthesized into four explanatory macro-areas, each divided into subcategories:

• “Recommendation”, includes conclusions, lessons learned, and knowledge gathered, produced, and disseminated by the projects
• “Policy”, refers to agreements, declarations, or alliances born from the implementation of the projects
• “Sustainability”, highlights factors that provide support for the sustainability of best practices or the use of produced tools beyond the mandate of the individual implemented project
• “Transferability/Scalability”, defines essential steps in the implementation strategy that must be considered in transferring or scaling up a best practice

The main identified areas suggest maximum attention and commitment at the policy level, the construction of databases of best practices, the building of networks and intersectoral involvement, communication and education interventions, addressing research gaps, and health equity.

These results provide a useful framework to inform and guide future initiatives aimed at reducing the prevalence of childhood obesity and promoting a healthy lifestyle in European societies.

WP4: the Lisbon workshop (November 2024)

On 12 November 2024, during the 17th European Public Health Conference in Lisbon, a workshop was held on “Transferability and Sustainability of Best Practices in Health promotion and childhood obesity prevention across Europe: sharing experiences from different EU Joint Actions”. The workshop, organised by the ISS as coordinator of WP4 of the JA Health4EUkids, aimed to contribute to how previous and current initiatives, policies and existing tools at European level can support Member States in health promotion and childhood obesity prevention.

WP4: the Rome workshop (March 2025)

On 27 and 28 March 2025, the second face-to-face meeting of WP4 of the European Health4EUKids project took place at the ISS in Rome. The event was a crucial moment to take stock of the project's progress and define strategies to ensure its sustainability and transferability at European level.

WP4: The Capacity Building Programme – Experiences and Tools for Health Promotion

As part of WP4 of this Joint Action, a modular capacity building programme was launched in May 2025 with the aim of sharing results, tools, and actions to support the transferability, sustainability, and scalability of the best practices Grünau Moves and Smart Family across various European contexts, from a public health perspective. The programme – coordinated by WP4 with the involvement of all Member States participating in the JA, who contributed their own project-related experiences – is free and open-access. It is aimed at anyone involved in health promotion for children and responsive parenting, and interested in the implementation of best practices. This includes professionals in the health, social, and educational sectors, as well as national, regional, or local interest groups, policymakers, authorities, and students working in the field of public health.

• To learn more, visit the page dedicated to the modular capacity building programme.

Health4EUkids – WP4–WP5–WP6: the Patras meeting (August 2025)

On 28 and 29 August 2025, the third in-person meeting of Work Packages (WP) 4, 5, and 6 of the Health4EUKids Joint Action took place in Patras, with the participation of partners from the European countries involved in the project. Within the framework of WP4 activities, the meeting provided an opportunity to address and discuss the sustainability and transferability perspectives of the best practices through two participatory methodologies: the World Café, aimed at exploring sustainability perspectives at local and national levels, and the Role Wheel, used to collect and co-create key messages to be addressed to the European Commission. The meeting represented an important opportunity to contribute to the definition of the Joint Action’s final recommendations, supporting policymakers in strengthening inter-institutional collaboration and public health policies.

• To learn more, visit the page dedicated.

WP4: Sustainability Framework

Within the Health4EUKids Joint Action, Work Package 4 developed a Sustainability Framework through a structured Delphi consensus process involving experts and stakeholders from participating Member States. The framework was designed to identify the key conditions required to ensure the long-term sustainability and transferability of health promotion and childhood obesity prevention initiatives across diverse European contexts.

Grounded in the Dynamic Sustainability Framework, the process combined qualitative and quantitative methods, including open-ended consultations, expert rating rounds, and collective discussions. This approach led to the identification of ten interdependent sustainability criteria: regulatory and legislative support; adaptability to local contexts; capacity building and continuous training; integration into existing systems; community participation and co-design; financial sustainability and funding mechanisms; infrastructure support and resources; evaluation and continuous improvement; trans-sectoral collaboration; and political resilience.

Together, these criteria provide an evidence-informed and comprehensive framework to support policymakers and practitioners in embedding effective health promotion interventions into routine systems, enhancing their adaptability, equity, and long-term impact at local, national, and European levels.