European Youth Tackling Obesity

Young people leadingbehaviour change: A social marketing approach to encourage healthy lifestyles

► 22 million children in the EU are overweight or obese

► Affects around a third of children and young people in the UK

► It’s a public health time bomb

► It’s a major health inequality

The problem

► Window of opportunity

► Historically hasn’t been given enough attention

► Great promise in using proven techniques

The teenage years

► Look at what’s missing

o Ecological approach

o Target young people most at risk

o Local level approach

o Young People’s participation

o Realising the potential of social marketing

A new approach

What is social marketing?

► Approach to develop activities which are aimed at changing or maintaining people’s behaviour for the benefit of individuals and society as a whole

► Behaviour► Audience► Theory► Insight► Exchange► Competition► Segmentation► Mix

► Learn more about what works

► Apply this learning to develop new campaigns to get young people to eat better, move more

► Develop the evidence base and support the wider replication of good practice

A youth led social marketing approach to encourage healthy lifestyles

► England, Spain, Czech Republic and Portugal ► Project teams of appropriate expertise► Reviews of the learning form past and present work► Recruit Young Campaign Creators► Develop and launch campaigns across local communities

► Host exchanges for sharing learning► Evaluating the impact of campaigns on peers and

stakeholders, and impact of engagement on Young Campaign Creators

► Launch pan-European campaign messages, associated tools and resources

► Disseminate the learning

► Challenges of engaging young people with more complex lives

► Routes to engagement

► Grounding in their lives

► Giving them creative control

► Making sure we understand what they want to get out of it

► Checking back on their personal development

► Showing them how they're influencing peers

Making ‘peer- led’ work

Challenge yourself to get active

+ try new healthier foods

SpainSpain

Czech Republic

Portugal

Interim evaluation findings - 1

Perceptions of obesity among young people“I have always thought about healthy lifestyles only in one way how to lose weight. Now I see that it’s more complex. It’s also about your motivation, about your emotions and your whole life”

► Internal, emotional factors

► Top three challenges – lack of motivation, willpower and lack of enjoyment of exercise.

► Complex combination of factors enabling healthy living

Interim evaluation findings - 2

The power of social marketing approachesOf the young people responding to our surveys: ► 88% felt that the campaigns were effective in encouraging

young people to eat more healthily and be more active

► 83% felt that the campaigns were effective in motivating and showing young people how to eat more healthily and be more active

► 90% felt that the campaigns were effective in communicating why this is important

► 96% had discussed the campaign, thought about making a lifestyle change, or tried to find out more

Interim evaluation findings - 3

Supporting successful youth-led work► Develop a bespoke approach to involving young people

► Taking time and context into account

► Bringing people together

► Managing content creation

► Co-production

► Ecological approach

► Skills and confidence

► Coordinated approach

Co-production; developing skills and confidence, coordinated local approach

Lessons learnt...

►How to support successful youth led work

► Learning to loose control

► Cultural differences but same underlying messages

► Social marketing works

What’s next...

► Pulling all together under one umbrella

►Final evaluation reporting

►Disseminating pan European messages, tools and resources

► Model for achieving behaviour change with adolescents

► All kinds of additional benefits, including:

Young people developing skills and confidence

Potential for more coordinated approach at a local level

► Addressing other Public Health issues

Potential for replication

Amy Davies: Senior Development Officer - Health and Social Care, NCB

adavies@ncb.org.uk / 07850 926 988

www.ncb.org.uk/eyto