Small steps towards a healthier living environment with the JOGG Approach

For schools and community organisations, for example, a healthy living environment already fits well with their goals. This is often not the case for private parties such as supermarkets and hospitality businesses. As a result, they are more difficult to engage. However, engaging them is necessary to increase the impact of JOGG.

The JOGG Approach leads to changes

In the long term, the JOGG Approach leads to:

• stakeholders taking ownership of the healthy living environment;
• changes in the policies of organisations and municipalities to encourage healthy choices;
• integrated cooperation between local stakeholders.

Changes in lifestyle behaviour and overweight among children and young people have not been demonstrated.

Change is a long-term process

The process of creating a healthy living environment requires perseverance and consists of small steps. Initially, accessible projects create awareness and support among stakeholders to contribute to a healthy living environment. Ownership and policy changes then gradually follow.

Local JOGG teams contribute to and accelerate this process by:

• facilitating;
• encouraging stakeholders;
• making successes visible;
• creating positive associations with JOGG; and
• connecting stakeholders.

National measures needed

The JOGG Approach alone is not enough to have a major impact on lifestyle and overweight. Additional measures from the national government are needed for this. The government must enable local efforts and make efforts to create a healthy living environment less voluntary.

Different research methods

Creating a healthy living environment is complex. The researchers therefore used different research methods to investigate how the JOGG Approach works and what it delivers: comparative case studies, interviews and data analyses.

What is JOGG?

JOGG, formerly known in full as Young People at a Healthy Weight, is a national foundation established at the end of 2014 as the successor to the Covenant on a Healthy Weight (2010–2014). JOGG is primarily funded by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS).