The primary objectives of the project were: (1) to create permanent, sustainable, digital and multilingual learning and teaching tools, methods and practices for developing healthy lifestyle habits and preventing obesity in the university environement; (2) to create tools and practises for developing a sensitive communication competences in the field of obesity which is necessary to avoid stigmatization; (3) to prepare guidelines for university canteen staff on including techniques for preparation of healthy meals, and (4) to implement and accreditate the project results at the university level. This corresponds with the chosen priorities of “Stimulating awareness on healthy lifestyle habits” and “Building inclusive higher education systems”. All objectives can be included in the higher education programs at the university level and were developed for the target group of students and young adults, but, considering the importance of preventing obesity and developing healthy lifestyle habits, the project outcomes can also be used by other sectors of society. All project outcomes were translated into 6 partners' languages (Engish, Slovene, Slovak, Portuguese, Norwegian and Croatian).
According to the World Health Organization (2022), more than one billion people worldwide are obese, including 650 million adults, 340 million adolescents and 39 million children. Obesity is associated with a serious burden due to high morbidity, mortality and impact on quality of life. Obese people face societal stigmatisation and suffer from insecurity and other psychologically motivated frustrations, which influence the quality of life. Overweight and obesity are linked to more deaths worldwide than underweight, and it is a growing problem, rivalling world hunger in the number of people that suffer from it. Information on the dangers of obesity is available in various forms (primarily online sources), however our needs analysis demonstrated that in the university environment, students are rarely offered an intentional, strategically planned, professional and direct approach (e.g. in a form of a curriculum, handbooks, workshops or other learning material) on how important it is develop healthy life-style habits and prevent obesity. This was the primary need the project addressed - to offer students multilingual tools and methods for preventing obesity and developing healthy lifestyle habits.