In response to the findings, JOGG, which is responsible for implementing the approach, is calling on all municipalities and healthcare organisations in the Netherlands to continue investing in the approach and also in making the living environment healthier. The approach is now being applied in more than 70 municipalities.
SROI analysis
Between September 2022 and April 2024, Stichting VitaValley conducted an SROI analysis of the Child to a Healthier Weight approach. The SROI analysis shows that investing in this approach pays off: every euro invested generates €3.20 in social value.
Marjon Bachra, managing director of JOGG: “The results of the analysis show how powerful our collaboration is and how valuable a strong local network of professionals around children and families can be. They show that children who are overweight or obese can be helped in a positive and lasting way. We hope these findings will encourage more municipalities and other parties, such as youth healthcare services and Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs), that are not yet participating to get started. With a broad network of professionals, we can help many more children.”
Description of the approach
The Child to a Healthier Weight approach is described in the ‘National chain approach model for children who are overweight or obese’ (VU/Care for Obesity 2018). This model is based on scientific knowledge and practical experience from eight pilot municipalities. Since 2022, JOGG has owned the approach and has been responsible for implementing the Child to a Healthier Weight approach. The collaboration between healthcare providers (general practitioners, dietitians and physiotherapists) and professionals in the social domain (youth healthcare and welfare workers) is central to the approach.
“It is important that a child who is overweight or obese receives appropriate support and care. But if that child is then tempted by sweets at the checkout in the supermarket, or cannot join a sports club, it is difficult for these children to change their lifestyle sustainably. That is why we must also focus on making the living environment healthier. By addressing both areas, we can bring about structural change,” says Eline Verstappen, project leader for the Child to a Healthier Weight approach and JOGG coordinator in Roermond.
More and more children are overweight
More and more children are struggling with being overweight. One in eight children between the ages of 4 and 16 is still overweight or obese. Between the ages of 16 and 20, this rises to one in five. In addition, an individual child often faces multiple problems alongside being overweight, such as the family situation at home and parents’ financial difficulties. This makes overweight a complex problem that can only be addressed through collaboration with healthcare professionals, youth healthcare services and health insurers. Early intervention helps combat obesity.
Investing in young people pays off threefold
Prof. Dr Erica van den Akker, paediatrician and scientist at the Centre for a Healthy Weight, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children’s Hospital, is clear about the importance of investing in young people: “Investing in young people pays off threefold. The immense consequences of obesity for public health, healthcare and society are unsustainable in the long term. If we want to break this cycle, we must intervene earlier—not only once diseases have already developed. The shorter the duration of obesity, the greater the chance of recovery.”
Click here for the SROI analysis.