Novo Nordisk Launches Global Childhood Obesity Initiative to Support Healthier Urban Communities

(IN BRIEF) Novo Nordisk has launched the Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative, aimed at combating rising obesity rates among children in underserved urban communities across six cities worldwide. Backed by an investment of over 250 million Danish kroner and a coalition of partners, including local governments and non-profits, the initiative will focus on increasing physical activity and promoting healthy eating among children aged 6 to 13. The program will employ a rigorous evidence-based framework to assess health behavior changes and body mass index (BMI) improvements over three years. This initiative builds on Novo Nordisk’s previous experience with city-based health programs and will be rolled out in cities across Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa, and Spain.

(PRESS RELEASE) BAGSVÆRD, 9-Oct-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — In a significant move to address the rising rates of childhood obesity, Novo Nordisk has unveiled a new initiative aimed at preventing obesity among children in economically disadvantaged urban communities worldwide. The Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative, supported by a coalition of partners including local governments, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations, will be implemented in six cities across five continents, with an investment exceeding 250 million Danish kroner.

This ambitious three-year initiative focuses on enhancing children’s physical activity levels and promoting healthy eating habits. It will utilize a solid evidence-based framework to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of various interventions. Health behavior changes and improvements in well-being, particularly health-related quality of life and body mass index (BMI), will be monitored in children aged 6 to 13, starting with baseline measurements followed by evaluations at one and two years post-intervention. Each city will adopt a controlled study design, comparing outcomes between the intervention group and a control group, with data collected from approximately 1,000 children in each cohort.

Katrine DiBona, Global Head of Sustainability & Public Affairs at Novo Nordisk, emphasized the urgency of the initiative, stating, “With childhood obesity rates surging globally, it is critical that we take proactive measures to safeguard the health and well-being of our children and future generations. By targeting disadvantaged urban communities, the Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative aims to deliver crucial evidence and a data-driven framework to empower city leaders in their efforts to combat childhood obesity.”

Building on over ten years of expertise in city-based prevention initiatives through the Cities for Better Health program, this new initiative will initially focus on cities in Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa, and Spain, providing tailored solutions to the unique challenges faced by these communities.

About childhood obesity
In 2022 more than 390 million children aged 5–19 years were affected by overweight worldwide, including 160 million who were living with obesity. This puts them at risk of developing early onset of type 2 diabetes and is a strong predictor of adult obesity1. Children from lower socioeconomic communities tend to have an increased risk of obesity2.

About Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative (COPI)
In the project, global partners, Delivery Associates and Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) will support the design and delivery of the interventions and evaluation in collaboration with a coalition of cross-sector local partners such as city governments, academic institutions and nonprofit organisations. After 24 months, the impact is measured through a robust monitoring and evaluation framework. The learning generated will be used as guidance to city and community leaders worldwide on how to design, implement, measure and sustain effective interventions. The initiative is part of Novo Nordisk’s social responsibility efforts to address obesity holistically as a serious chronic disease.

About Cities for Better Health
The initiative is part of Cities for Better Health, a global public-private partnership committed to accelerating change in urban health across generations by building impactful local partnerships to drive health promotion and prevention. The partnership, formerly called Cities Changing Diabetes, takes a holistic approach to drive impactful community-based action to promote healthy food consumption and physical activity among children and vulnerable communities. Today, more than 50 cities and 300 partners are collaborating through the
programme. Read more here.

Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark. Our purpose is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases, built upon our heritage in diabetes. We do so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. Novo Nordisk employs about 69,000 people in 80 countries and markets its products in around 170 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com, Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.

References
1. World Health Organization. Obesity and Overweight. [Online] World Health Organization. Available at: Obesity and overweight (who.int)
2. World Health Organization. The inequality epidemic: low-income teens face higher risks of obesity, inactivity and poor diet. [Online] World Health Organization. Available at: The inequality epidemic: lowincome teens face higher risks of obesity, inactivity and poor diet (who.int) NHS England. National Child Measurement Programme, England, 2021/22 school year. [Online] NHS England. Available at: National Child Measurement Programme, England, 2021/22 school year – NHS England Digital

Novo Nordisk Launches Global Childhood Obesity Initiative to Support Healthier Urban Communities

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