Fit Futures: Focus on Food, Activity and Young People
Public Authority
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Who helped us
NIPPA, Northern Ireland Youth Forum and Parents Advice Centre
What we wanted
The Fit Futures Taskforce was established by the Ministerial Group on Public Health in August 2004 in response to concerns about the rising levels of overweight and obesity in children and young people. The role of the Taskforce was to examine options for preventing the rise in levels of overweight and obesity in children and to make recommendations to the Ministerial Group on priorities for action.
How we did it
The Taskforce commissioned NIPPA, Northern Ireland Youth Forum and the Parents Advice Centre to engage with children and young people. The organisations worked with 300 children and young people and over 200 parents to hear their views on obesity related issues which informed and directed discussions with other stakeholder groups.
What they said
The engagement process concluded with an intersectoral stakeholder event which included young people, in March 2005. The outcomes of this event were reflected in the development of the Fit Futures Strategy and helped to inform the process.
This engagement was found to be useful and would be used in the future within other appropriate and relevant strategy developments.