title: Evidence-based development of school-based and family-involved prevention of overweight across Europe: the ENERGY-project's design and conceptual framework.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is an urgent need for more carefully developed public health measures in order to curb the obesity epidemic among youth. The overall aim of the "EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth" (ENERGY)-project is the development and formative evaluation of a theory-informed and evidence-based multi-component school-based and family-involved intervention program ready to be implemented and evaluated for effectiveness across Europe. This program aims at promoting the adoption or continuation of health behaviors that contribute to a healthy energy balance among school-aged children. Earlier studies have indicated that school and family environments are key determinants of energy-balance behaviors in schoolchildren. Schools are an important setting for health promotion in this age group, but school-based interventions mostly fail to target and involve the family environment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Led by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from eleven European countries and supported by a team of Australian experts, the ENERGY-project is informed by the Environmental Research Framework for Weight gain Prevention, and comprises a comprehensive epidemiological analysis including 1) systematic reviews of the literature, 2) secondary analyses of existing data, 3) focus group research, and 4) a cross European school-based survey.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The theoretical framework and the epidemiological analysis will subsequently inform stepwise intervention development targeting the most relevant energy balance-related behaviors and their personal, family-environmental and school-environmental determinants applying the Intervention Mapping protocol. The intervention scheme will undergo formative and pilot evaluation in five countries. The results of ENERGY will be disseminated among key stakeholders including researchers, policy makers and the general population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ENERGY-project is an international, multidisciplinary effort to develop and test an evidence-based and theory-informed intervention program for obesity prevention among school-aged children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. j.brug@vumc.nl
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brug
authors.forename: Saskia J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: te Velde
authors.forename: Mai J M
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chinapaw
authors.forename: Elling
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bere
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: de Bourdeaudhuij
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Lea
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.forename: Jorgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: Yannis
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Manios
authors.forename: Nanna
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lien
authors.forename: Knut Inge
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Klepp
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lobstein
authors.forename: Marloes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martens
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.forename: Amika S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D015444:Exercise; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012107:Research Design; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D012572:School Health Services; D013334:Students