Tackling the problem of overweight and obesity: the Dutch approach.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this article is to share the Dutch experience of a nation-wide approach to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity. This is an practice example of national health policy.


METHODS
The Ministry of Health facilitates three complementary initiatives to tackle overweight and obesity: i) the Knowledge Centre Overweight (KCO) (since 2002) to enhance knowledge about prevention and treatment of overweight, ii) the Covenant on Overweight (CO) (since 2005), a public-private partnership, iii) the Partnership Overweight Netherlands (PON) (since 2008), to facilitate the development and implementation of a chronic disease management model.


RESULTS
The KCO has a platform with 20 partners that functions as a sounding board. It consists of specialists in the area of overweight and obesity. Moreover KCO has a well-visited website: www.overgewicht.org. The CO with 20 partners from the (local) government, private and public sector has instigated various activities regarding the settings home, school, work, and recreation. The PON has the commitment of 18 partners (organisations of health care providers, health insurance companies and patient organisations) and facilitates the implementation of the national clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of obesity.


CONCLUSIONS
In the Netherlands relevant stakeholders work together at all levels. The ambition is to make this the first integrated, practice-and evidence-based, national approach for tackling overweight and obesity.
Renders
Carry M
CM
Knowledge Centre Overweight, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Carry.Renders@falw.vu.nl
Halberstadt
Jutka
J
Frenkel
Carolien S
CS
Rosenmöller
Paul
P
Seidell
Jacob C
JC
Hirasing
Remy A
RA
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000458:organization & administration; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration
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