Context Sedentarism, unhealthy eating habits and lack of physical exercise among school children represent a worrying problem which has arisen due mainly to the fact that in the past years technology has pushed children indoors. This aspect, doubled by the fact that parents are now too busy to cater for their children’s eating habits have increased the numbers of obesity cases among school children. In addition to causing various physical disabilities and psychological problems, excess weight drastically increases a person’s risk of developing a number of diseases and has a negative psychological impact. Objectives - To decrease the number of consumers of fast food in the target group by at least 50% after the 2 project years. - To raise the awareness of at least 70% of participants about the principles of healthy eating; - To increase physical activity to a minimum of 1 hour per day for 60% of students in the TG; - to improve communication skills, interpersonal skills and self-confidence in a European environment of at least 65% of participants - To exchange ideas and practices with other European schools in order for teachers to produce one brochure for students and parents and one brochure for schools. - To develop the knowledge about the diversity of European sports and cultures of at least 70% participants. Participants The project addresses three target groups – the first one is that of students aged 5 -13, students with weight problems as well as regular students (the reason for the choice of this age range is that at these ages, students start developing long-term behaviours, so it is a critical age for the development of the future adults). They will be in the middle of all activities, both carried out at transnational level, in exchanges, and locally. The second group is that of parents – we will inform them about the project development and involve them in the local activities so as to raise their awareness about the importance of healthy diet for their children’s development. We want parents to join our activities, to observe their children in interaction, to see how happy they are and to determine them to continue this way of living at home, to involve their children in outdoor activities as much as possible. Thirdly, teachers who will participate in exchanges. They will be able to exchange experiences, to analyse the similarities, differences, identify good practices and apply them in their own schools. They will learn from their European peers and become resources for their colleagues in order to ensure the sustainability of the project results. Activities C1 – Lack of physical exercise and obesity – current trends in Europe (Nov. 2019, TR) C2-3 - The topic of C2 is Obesity – causes and effects on the short, medium and long term (Mar 2020, ES) C4-5 - You are what you eat - How to have a balanced diet (Oct 2020, BG) C6-7 - Sports and physical activities to combat sedentarism and obesity tendencies (Mar 2021, PL) C8-9 - Hiking and outdoor activities (May 2021, EST) Results We will produce the following concrete results: 1. Initial survey report and final survey report 2. Collections of materials produced after each LTTA – Causes and effects of obesity, Rules of healthy eating, Sports activities in different European countries, Outdoor activities that can be organized by the school and by parents. 3. Students’ journals 4. Brochure for parents and students about healthy diet and pastime dynamic activities 5. Brochure for schools with a shortlist of all the activities that can be performed by schools dealing with the same issues 6. 4 exchange reports in which we present the results of each exchange and measure the impact on students 7. 5 newsletters 8. Impact study at the end of the project. Impact The impact of the project consists of an increased awareness of healthy living and healthy eating on the part of students and parents in our schools. They will learn about the causes and effects of obesity, acquire ways to combat the tendency to sedentarism, be more open to spending time outdoors and to using their free time to do exercising in a playful way. In short, the students are expected to change their current unhealthy eating and living habits. As well as this, through direct participation in exchanges, students become more motivated, be more culturally aware and improve their communication, interpersonal, language skills. We expect them to develop a greater sense of tolerance and mutual respect. Also, participating teachers become more motivated and develop on a personal level. They become more prepared and better equipped to deal with the problem locally. Through the exchange of best practices with their European peers, they are expected to develop professionally as well.
Context Sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diets and lack of exercise among schoolchildren are a worrying problem, largely due to technology forcing children to stay at home in recent years. This aspect, coupled with the fact that parents are now too busy to satisfy their children's eating habits, has increased the incidence of obesity among schoolchildren. In addition to various physical deficiencies and psychological problems, being overweight dramatically increases a person's risk of developing a number of diseases and has a negative psychological impact. Also, while working on the topic of the project, a pandemic happened, which also forced children to sit at home in front of computer screens, which made our project even more valuable, because during the pandemic, teachers encouraged students not to sit at computers, but to move more and monitor nutrition. The goals were - Reduce the number of fast food consumers in the target group by at least 50% after 2 years of the project. - Raise awareness of at least 70% of participants about the principles of healthy eating; - increase physical activity to at least 1 hour a day for 60% of TG students; - improve communication skills, interpersonal skills and self-confidence in a European environment by at least 65% of participants - Exchange ideas and practices with other European schools so that teachers produce one brochure for students and parents and one brochure for schools. - Expand knowledge of the diversity of European sports and cultures to at least 70% of the participants. Members The project was focused on three target groups - the first group - schoolchildren 5-13 years old, schoolchildren with weight problems, as well as ordinary schoolchildren (the reason for choosing this age range is that at this age long-term behaviors begin to form in schoolchildren, so this is a critical age for the development of future adults). They were at the center of everything. The second group, the parents, were kept informed about the progress of the project and involved in local activities to raise their awareness of the importance of healthy eating for the development of their children. We wanted parents to join our activities, watch their children in communication, see how happy they are, and encourage them to continue this lifestyle at home, to involve their children in outdoor activities as much as possible. Thirdly, the teachers who participated in the exchanges. They were able to exchange experiences, analyze similarities, differences, identify best practices and apply them in their schools. They learned from their European counterparts and became a source of resources for them to ensure the sustainability of the results of the project. Events C1 - Lack of exercise and obesity - current trends in Europe (Nov 2019 TS) C2 - Topic C2 - Obesity - Causes and Consequences in the Short, Medium and Long Term (April 2022, ES) C3 - You are what you eat - How to Eat a Balanced Diet (March 2022, FY) C4 - Sports and physical activity to combat sedentary lifestyles and obesity trends (June 2022, PL) C5 - Hiking & Outdoors (November 2021 ET) Results We got the following concrete results: 1. Initial survey report and final survey report 2. Collections of materials produced after each LTTA - Causes and consequences of obesity, Healthy eating rules, Sports activities in different European countries, Outdoor activities that can be organized by the school and parents. 3. Student magazines 4. Brochure for parents and students about healthy eating and active pastime. 5. Brochure for schools with a short list of all the activities that can be carried out by schools dealing with the same problems. 6. 4 exchange reports in which we present the results of each exchange and measure the impact on students 7. 5 newsletters 8. Impact study at the end of the project. Impact The impact of the project was to increase the awareness of students and parents about healthy lifestyles and healthy eating in our schools. They learned about the causes and consequences of obesity, learned about ways to combat sedentary lifestyles, and became more open to spending time outdoors and using their free time to exercise. The students changed their unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits. In addition, thanks to the project, students became more motivated, culturally aware and improved their communication, interpersonal, language skills. Schoolchildren have a greater sense of tolerance and mutual respect. In addition, the participating teachers became more motivated and developed on a personal level. They have become better trained and better equipped to deal with this problem locally. By sharing best practices with their European counterparts, they have also developed professionally. During the pandemic, teachers gave various project tasks to complete at home. For which they received gratitude from their parents.