ROMA (ITALPRESS) – Promote a culture of prevention and healthier lifestyles to combat the obesity of children and young people: to do so, the PreSa network (Prevention and Health) and Giunti Editore, in collaboration with Trenitalia (FS Group) and with the non-conditional support of Novo Nordisk, have realized “Salute, Pinocchio! The body in balance”, manual to medical education comics.
Obesity in evolutionary age is today one of the most complex challenges for public health: if not faced in time it affects the health of children with consequences that extend throughout the life span. Over recent decades, overweight and obesity rates among young people have reached critical levels, representing a true global emergency. In Italy there is the highest prevalence in Europe, with 2 million children and adolescents between 3 and 17 years of excess weight (about 1 out of 4). A condition that is not exhausted in childhood: in more than 50% of children and 70-80% of adolescents obesity persists in adulthood, increasing the risk of chronic cardiometabolic diseases and a worsening of the quality of life.
To reverse this trend, it is essential to intervene early, starting from the younger ones. In this direction, promoting a culture of prevention and healthier lifestyles also means talking about health with innovative languages capable of engaging and exciting without judgment.
“The childhood and teenage obesity is one of the most important public health challenges of our time, with consequences that can last until adulthood and result in a greater risk of developing chronic diseases and complications throughout life – said Jens Pii Olesen, general manager Novo Nordisk Italia, during the event of presentation of the volume – but its effects range far beyond health: The data shows us that due to this condition today the life expectancy of young generations is reduced compared to that of today’s adults. Today, in Italy, about 2 million children and adolescents between 3 and 17 years live a condition of excess weight. The numbers tell us the size of the problem, but behind each given there are children, boys and families who deserve attention and support”.
Olesen explained that “scientific evidence clearly indicates that it is possible and necessary to move to action, through preventive interventions, integrated and based on health education. This is why we are proud to support the project Salute Pinocchio, an innovative initiative that speaks to young people and their families with an accessible and engaging language. In Novo Nordisk we believe that investing in the health of new generations means investing in the future of society, helping to build greater awareness, healthy lifestyles and a culture of sustainable and long-term prevention.”
A high social, educational and cultural publishing initiative dedicated to the youngest and their families, which in an accessible, fun and effective way recounts the relationship between body, lifestyles, nutrition, movement, emotions and well-being. The project is sponsored by the Fondazione Medicina Sociale e Innovazione Tecnologica (MESIT), the Federazione Italiana Associazioni Obesità (FIAO) and the patient associations La Mattina Dopo and Amici Oltre il Peso.
“As patient associations we consider priority to support initiatives that promote a more conscious and non-stimulating culture of obesity, especially when they turn to new generations: it is at this stage that knowledge and awareness are built, and from here can really start a concrete and long-term changeraturo – comment patients -. Promoting awareness-raising initiatives aimed at young people means acting when life habits are formed: for children and adolescents it is essential to gain awareness, to build solid foundations for a healthy future and reduce the risk that pathology evolves before it is too late.”
The 10,000 copies of the volume will be distributed free of charge, in the second half of June, on board the Intercity trains, the brand of Trenitalia, and in the main FRECCIALounge of Italy, thus reaching families, children and young people on their way across the national territory. A capillary and transversal channel that leads health promotion outside traditional contexts to reach a heterogeneous audience in a daily and proximity context.
The Vice-President of the House, Giorgio Mulè, recalled that “the health of the new generations is not only protected in traditional health contexts: it is a shared responsibility, which calls into question families, culture, institutions. A guy on four in Italy is in excess of weight. In addition to the commitment already assumed with the financing of screening programs for obesity in teens, now prevention must enter into daily life with an accessible and unwise language. Being able to reach kids with engaging and innovative tools means taking that responsibility seriously. As institutions we must make sure that there is no exception.” “Salute, Pinocchio! The body in balance”, accompanies readers on a journey to discover how the human organism works and why it is important to take care of it since children. From the concept of homeostasis to metabolism, from the role of nutrition to that of movement, sleep and emotions, the volume addresses in a light but accurate way delicate themes such as overweight and childhood obesity, explaining how these are complex and multifactoral health conditions not attributable to simple individual choices or responsibilities but result of genetics, environment, lifestyles and social context. The illustrated narrative, with stories and drawings of original comics, alternates with divulging in depths with the column “The voice of the Grillo”, which explains with simplicity and scientific rigor the good practices to grow in health. Boxes of curiosity, practical advice, information boards and final quizzes transform health education into an engaging experience. A chapter is dedicated in particular to the theme of stigma and weight-related bullying: overweight or obesity children and adolescents have a 2-3 times greater risk of being bullyed than peers. The central message of the volume is clear: each body is unique and deserves respect, without judgment; health is not a point of arrival, but a continuous path made of awareness, collective responsibility, small daily gestures and relationships that support us. A journey that starts from children to build healthy habits and lifestyles and protect, day after day, health today and tomorrow.
– photo press office Novo Nordisk –
(ITALPRESS).
