Press Release – Voices of the Youth Campaign

by | Oct 20, 2022 | News, Newsletter

Teenagers living with obesity to take part in a major international awareness campaign Friday October 21 2022

Teenagers from across Europe will be participating in a major international campaign which launches this week to help them, their parents, caregivers, and healthcare professionals a better understanding of the challenges of living with overweight or obesity.

The campaign, ‘The Voices of Youth in Obesity’ is an initiative of the non-profit patient organisation, the European Coalition for People Living with Obesity (ECPO), includes a series of events ranging from the launch of a podcasts to a live broadcast, the publication of information materials and extensive social media engagement.

According to ECPO, the level of teenage overweight and obesity in Europe has been steadily increasing. One in seven 15-year-olds is now affected.

“Teenagers with obesity are continuously stigmatised and ‘blamed’ for their weight”, says ECPO President Sólveig Sigurdardóttir. “As part of our Living with Obesity Campaign Day on October 21, we are inviting young adults to share real lived experiences so that everyone can learn from them and ensure they receive the support, guidance and care they need”.

The lack of such support has been highlighted in several recent reports, however the awareness from the [i] ACTION TEENS study has been the basis for this campaign. [ii],[iii],[iv]

Among the ECPO initiatives will be a live Patient Lounge event to be held online at 15:00 CEST (2pm BST). It will include interviews with patients, parent, caregivers and a psychologist from Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, the UK and Ireland. The first in what will be a series of monthly podcasts leading up to World Obesity Day on March 4 will also be published with a new section of the ECPO website devoted to teenagers (https://ecpomedia.org/resources/young-adults/).

Newly published material will include educational infographics from teenagers translated into several European languages and guidelines for parents and caregivers on opening the conversation on obesity. The campaign for teenagers is also highlighted in the latest edition of Eurobesity Magazine (https://ecpomedia.org/resources/ecpo-magazine/)

Social media conversations can be followed on Twitter (https://twitter.com/ECPObesity)(#LivingWithObesity, #EuroYouth), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ECPObesity1) and LinkedIn.

We will hear the voices of teenagers through their own conversations and have a better understanding of how teenagers want to be represented, spoken and engaged with,” says Solveig Sigurdardóttir.

Anyone wishing to participate in the Patient Lounge event can join, free of charge, at www.ecpopatientlounge.com.

The podcast series ‘The Voice of Youth in Obesity’ will be available on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast and Spotify Podcasts.

#LivingWithObesity

#EuroYouth

For Further information on this initiative and Living with Obesity and People First Day, please contact:

Vicki Mooney
Executive Director of EASO ECPO

[email protected]

[i] Action Teens Study Teens global survey study. Pediatric Obesity, 17(11). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12957

[ii] Action Teens Study Teens global survey study. Pediatric Obesity, 17(11). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12957

[iii] Lund University Study 2021: High prevalence of neurodevelopmental problems in adolescents eligible for bariatric surgery for severe obesity, First published: 15 December 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.15702

[iv] Confronting Obesity, Co-creating policy with youth (Co-Create) 2021: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/774210