The European Commission launched a new campaign HealthyLifestyle4All to promote a healthy lifestyle for all, across generations and social groups, with the objective to improve the health and well-being of Europeans. Linking sport and active lifestyles with health, food and other policies, this two-year campaign involves civil society, non-governmental organisations, national, local and regional authorities and international bodies. All involved will implement several actions for Europeans to be more active and more mindful of their health.
Sport and physical activity contribute to our physical and mental wellbeing. The lack of physical activity not only has a negative impact on society and people’s health, but also results in economic costs.
Margaritis Schina, European Commission Vice-President for Promoting the European Way of Life
1 in 3 does not eat any fruit or vegetables every day
According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, nearly half of Europeans never exercise or play sport, and the proportion has increased gradually in recent years. Only 1 in 7 persons aged 15 or over eats at least five portions of fruit or vegetables daily, while 1 in 3 does not eat any fruit or vegetables every day. Healthy lifestyles contribute to reduce the incidence of a number of non-communicable diseases. For example, it is an established fact that over 40% of cancers are preventable and unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles are important determinants. Effective cancer prevention strategies can prevent illness, save lives, and reduce suffering. Europe’s Beating Cancer plan is committed to giving people the information and tools they need to make healthier choices when it comes to diet and exercise.
3 objectives of the HealthyLifestyle4All campaign:
- Raise more awareness for healthy lifestyles across all generations;
- Support an easier access to sport, physical activity and healthy diets, with a special focus on inclusion and non-discrimination to reach and involve disadvantaged groups;
- Promote a global approach across policies and sectors, linking food, health, well-being and sport.
All participating organisations can submit a commitment for concrete actions in the online Pledge Board. Several EU countries and organisations, such as the International and European Olympic Committees, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International School Sport Federation, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and the World Health Organization (WHO) already submitted their contribution, with many more to be expected.
The HealthyLifestyle4All initiative invites key sectors promoting sport, physical activity and healthy diets to join the Commission in promoting action that can improve our healthy habits.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth
As a coordinator of the campaign, the Commission will implement several actions in the next two years, including for example:
- Increase funding for projects supporting a healthy lifestyle in the Erasmus+, Horizon Europe and EU4Health For 2021-2027, €470 million will be available for sport actions under Erasmus+, €290 million under Horizon Europe, and €4.4 million under EU4Health;
- Create a new #BeActive Across Generations Award to recognise the importance of Sport across different ages;
- Launch an EU Mobile App for cancer prevention to raise awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles for cancer prevention, supporting the goals of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan;
- Develop and update a food ingredients database containing information on the nutritional quality of processed food products sold in the EU to promote healthier food products and reduce the consumption of less healthy food products high in sugar, fat and salt. A harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labellingwill further support that objective as well as the EU Code of Conduct on responsible food business and marketing practices that entered in force in July 2021;
- Address the issue of healthy and sustainable diets, and the importance of physical activity and mental health in schools. The Commission will review the EU School fruit, vegetables and milk scheme and will streamline the concept of healthy lifestyles in its recommendation on education;
- Support evidence-based policy making for healthy lifestyleswith the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Knowledge Gateway and the Knowledge Centre on Cancer.
