A shining start

In a room full of driven professionals, conference chair, programme maker and journalist Marijn Frank opened the conference. As the mother of a child in the first year of secondary school, she recognised the challenge: at secondary school, young people are suddenly exposed to a world of temptations, where croissants beckon more strongly than a lunchbox with wholegrain bread and tomato.

Making a difference together

She discussed these environmental influences with Petra Verhoef, director of the Netherlands Nutrition Centre. Verhoef emphasised how urgent it is to work towards a healthier food environment for young people: "The food environment for young people is in a poor state. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre has been concerned about this for a long time and is actively working to bring about change. We are heading towards a health crisis, and if we really want to make a difference, now is the time to take action. I hope that today marks the start of working even harder towards a healthier food environment for young people and making a difference together."

A sense of urgency

The ministries of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN) that were present also recognise the urgency of making the environment healthier. Petra Verhoef spoke with Sander Baljé, a representative of VWS. "In doing so, we particularly want to focus on young people, because this is how you develop good habits at an early age. In addition, we are talking to supermarkets about gradually increasing the range of products from the Wheel of Five, and we want to regulate the legal ban on marketing aimed at children."

The science behind eating behaviour

The brain was central to the morning sessions. Paediatricians Felix Kreier and Maarten Biezeveld shared their insights into the broken hamster in our brain and how it influences our eating behaviour. "Our brains are not broken; the environment makes them ill."

Behavioural expert Liesbeth Velema took us through the hidden mechanisms behind food choices. She made it clear that everyone has an influence on them. "For example, we determine today what food and drink are available at the conference. Just as schools determine what is available in their canteens."

Direct impact

During the round-table sessions, schools and municipalities held engaging discussions based on various propositions. And successfully so. For example, one school was looking for a subsidy for a sandwich display case to offer its healthy sandwiches. They were put in touch with the Municipal Health Service (GGD) in their municipality, which can support them with this.

A look at the future

The afternoon focused on knowledge sessions. Guido Camps gave a presentation on the future of research into dietary habits. One of his insights was that we may need to let go of fixed mealtimes somewhat, because nowadays we eat more often throughout the day. During her session, Tamara Coppenhagen, project manager for Food Environments at the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, encouraged everyone to become an ambassador for a healthy food environment.

Maartje Boot, spokesperson and social media editor at the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, took us into the online world full of food trends, misinformation and the role of the media in this. Maartje showed how the Netherlands Nutrition Centre deals with this and shared valuable tips that you can put into practice yourself.

The right to a healthy body

The day ended with a question-and-answer session, during which 17-year-old Fé Swets of the National Action Committee for School Students (LAKS) delivered a powerful message: "Every young person has the right to a healthy body that they can live with throughout their lives. That should not depend on what you are given at home or how much money you have to buy healthy food."

Watch the conference again

Did you miss the conference or would you like to watch it again? View the livestream below.

Download presentations from the knowledge sessions