On 6 December 2019, Mark Levels accepted the chair of Health, Education and Work at Maastricht University as a professor. In connection with this, he gave an interview to the Sociale Vraagstukken website.
According to Levels, there is much to be said for studying them in conjunction: “They are three major fields of research that developed largely independently of one another and have received enormous scientific attention for a long time. Sociologists, economists and health scientists engage with them in their own ways. But we know much less about exactly how the three issues interconnect.”
In the meantime, many schools have strongly focused on making children healthier through all kinds of intervention programmes, because this would be good for their health and their academic performance. The assumption is also that things you learn at a young age have a major influence on later choices. Levels is critical of the assumptions regarding the relationship between healthy eating and academic performance, but also of the idea that individuals can make responsible choices. “We do not know whether you can really influence them. Quite apart from the question of whether you should want to, we do not know whether such programmes work. And yet a great deal of public money is involved and high expectations lie behind them.”
Sometimes the interventions will not work, Levels believes, and sometimes they may even have counterintuitive effects. “My colleague Bart Goldsteijn and other colleagues here in Maastricht conducted a wonderful study into the relationship between more exercise at school and academic performance. Sounds good. But the researchers found a negative correlation.” This was partly because time spent on physical education comes at the expense of maths lessons, and partly because of the timing, Levels explains. “If you have just been jumping around vigorously, it is difficult to keep your mind on the sums.”
Sometimes the effects are also downright perverse. Levels gives the example of the American nutrition app Kurbo, which was intended to combat obesity. “Obesity is a huge problem. But because the app made young people so aware of their eating habits, some of them actually developed eating disorders. That should make you think twice. I believe you have to be very careful when influencing children’s behaviour.”
Click here for information about the programme and registration for the ‘From Ego to Eco’ livecast by Alles is Gezondheid on 3 November.