EU project I.Family receives awards

The EU project I.Family, which is investigating the diet and lifestyle of children and adolescents as well as their families, is the happy recipient of two European awards: the first prize of the "CommNet Impact Award" in the category "Inspiring young people" and an invitation to the EU Pavilion at the EXPO 2015 in Milan. Seventeen partners from twelve European countries are cooperating in the study and investigations are being conducted in eight of the countries. The Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS is coordinating the study together with the University of Bremen.

The European Union's "CommNet Impact Award" awards excellent communication of research work to industry, the public, policy-makers and young people. The I.Family study was successful in the category "Inspiring young people" thanks to the fruitful community initiative of the Italian I.Family team at the Institute of Food Science / National Research Council (ISA-CNR) in Avellino with the local football team FC Avellino and the local health institutes. Children, their families, and selected classes from schools which had already taken part in I.Family were invited to watch FC Avellino home games. Through this partnership, more children and adolescents could be won for participation in the study.

The invitation to the EU Pavilion at the EXPO 2015 is a further indication of the high regard accorded to I.Family's European-wide research work. The EXPO 2015 will be held under the theme "Feeding the Planet - Energy for Life". Nutrition is thus a central topic of the world exhibition which will be examined from different perspectives. The EXPO 2015 is according the fight against obesity its own workshop series during which Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ahrens, I.Family project coordinator and deputy director at the BIPS, will present the project to the public on May 14.

The European I.Family study is the continuation of the IDEFICS study. The focus is on children and adolescents as well as their families. The aim of the study is to identify factors which influence dietary behaviour and food choices of children and adolescents. What motivates children and adolescents to eat healthy foods and to be physically active? Or, what stops them from eating healthy and being physically active? Does the family play a bigger role, or the social environment? I.Family is funded from the EU's 7th Framework Program from 2012 to 2017.

Further information:
CommNet Impact Award: commnet.eu/05_News/CommNet-Impact-Awards-Winners-Announced.kl
EXPO 2015 in Milan: www.expo2015.org/en
I.Family study: www.ifamilystudy.eu

Contact:
I.Family press office
Rhonda Smith / Kate Viggers
Phone +44/(0)1264/326427
Email rhonda@minervacomms.net / kate@minervacomms.net

Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ahrens
Phone +49/(0)421/218-56822
Email ahrens@bips.uni-bremen.de

BIPS press office
Anja Wirsing
Phone +49/(0)421/218-56780
Email presse@bips.uni-bremen.de