Food & Health Alliance

The EPODE European Network (EEN) is a European project running from 2008 to 2011 with the support of the European Commission DG Health and Consumers. The network was initiated by Protéines.

The objectives of the EEN are:

• To raise awareness of using a long term approach with local and multi-stakeholders to prevent childhood obesity. Their aim is promote and encourage stakeholders to use EPODE-similar local strategies across Europe.
• To develop existing methodologies and implementation guidance, which is transferable to other countries wishing to use the EPODE approach.
• To disseminate these guidelines in order to raise political, institutional and scientific awareness of the importance of local, long-term and multi-stakeholder approaches.
• To identify and contact relevant teams that are involved with community based interventions, using the EPODE methodology in other European countries and regions.

The EPODE approach has 4 pillars:

• The importance of political awareness, willingness and involvement.
• Good practices for the design, delivery and especially evaluation of EPODE-similar community based interventions.
• The interest of network expertise and social marketing approaches.
• The legal and ethical framework of public/private partnerships.