CO-CREATE – Confronting Obesity: Co-creating policy with youth

• Project title: Confronting Obesity: Co-creating policy with youth (Co-Create)
• Project webpage: https://www.fhi.no/en/studies/co-create/
• Funding: Horizon2020
• Duration: June 1st 2018 – May 31st 2023
• Project coordinator: Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
• Partners involved: The consortium comprises of 14 partners in Europe as well as South Africa and Australia.
• Staff involved: Birgit Kopainsky, Anaely Aguiar, and Furkan Önal.

Objectives

CO-CREATE aims to prevent overweight and obesity in adolescents by providing knowledge and infrastructure on policies to support making the healthiest choices the preferred ones. Adolescents are included in all aspects of the project, rooting the perspective of the key stakeholders themselves into project activities.

Contributions of System Dynamics Group, UiB

The main work of the UiB team is to develop a system dynamics model to assess the potential impacts of selected evidence-based and co-created policy options for obesity prevention, including the socioeconomic distribution of any such impact.

Scientific Articles

1. Aguiar, A., Önal, F., Hendricks, G., Blanchard, L., Romanenko, E., Fismen, A., Nwosu, E., Herstad, S., Savona, N., Harbron, J., Knai, C., Samdal, O., Rutter, H., Lien, N., Jalali, M. S., & Kopainsky, B. (2023). Understanding the dynamics emerging from the interplay among poor mental wellbeing, energy balance‐related behaviors, and obesity prevalence in adolescents: A simulation‐based study. Obesity Reviews, 24(S2), e13628. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13628

2. Blanchard, L., Conway‐Moore, K., Aguiar, A., Önal, F., Rutter, H., Helleve, A., Nwosu, E., Falcone, J., Savona, N., Boyland, E., & Knai, C. (2023). Associations between social media, adolescent mental health, and diet: A systematic review. Obesity Reviews, 24(S2), e13631. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13631

3. Nwosu, E., Makwambeni, P., Herstad, S. H., Etsebeth, H., Hendricks, G., Aguiar, A., Alaba, O., Blanchard, L., Fismen, A., Lien, N., & Harbron, J. (2023). Longitudinal relationship between adolescents’ mental health, energy balance‐related behavior, and anthropometric changes. Obesity Reviews, 24(S2), e13629. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13629

4. Conway‐Moore, K., Knai, C., Finegood, D., Johnston, L., Brinsden, H., Aguiar, A., Kopainsky, B., Önal, F., Helleve, A., Klepp, K., Lien, N., Luszczynska, A., Rito, A. I., Rønnestad, A. M., Ulstein, M., Blanchard, L., Savona, N., & Rutter, H. (2023). Co‐creating obesity prevention policies with youth: Policy ideas generated through the CO‐CREATE project. Obesity Reviews, 24(S2), e13623. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13623

5. Aguiar, A., Gebremariam, M. K., Romanenko, E., Önal, F., Kopainsky, B., Savona, N., Brown, A., Allender, S., & Lien, N. (2023). System dynamics simulation models on overweight and obesity in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Obesity Reviews, 24(S2), e13632. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13632

6. Knai, C., Savona, N., Finegood, D., Aguiar, A., Blanchard, L., Conway‐Moore, K., Helleve, A., Klepp, K., Lien, N., Luszczynska, A., Vlad, I., Rønnestad, A. M., & Rutter, H. (2023). Learning from the CO‐CREATE project: A protocol for systems thinking across research (STAR). Obesity Reviews, 24(S2), e13624. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13624

7. Hendricks, G., Savona, N., Aguiar, A., Alaba, O., Booley, S., Malczyk, S., Nwosu, E., Knai, C., Rutter, H., Klepp, K.-I., & Harbron, J. (2022). Adolescents’ Perspectives on the Drivers of Obesity Using a Group Model Building Approach: A South African Perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(4), 2160. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042160

8. Savona, N., Macauley, T., Aguiar, A., Banik, A., Boberska, M., Brock, J., Brown, A., Hayward, J., Holbæk, H., Rito, A. I., Mendes, S., Vaaheim, F., Van Houten, M., Veltkamp, G., Allender, S., Rutter, H., & Knai, C. (2021). Identifying the views of adolescents in five European countries on the drivers of obesity using group model building. European Journal of Public Health, 31(2), 391–396. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaa251

9. Aguiar, A. (2020). The role of systematic reviews in the system dynamics modelling process. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 37(6), 892–895. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2758