PRAIS Foundation

EPHE

For three years, the PRAIS Foundation has coordinated the implementation of the EPHE project in 7 countries, including Romania. The main goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of community-based interventions among disadvantaged populations to reduce the health gap and prevent childhood obesity. Simultaneously, the same research has been done in the other six similar communities in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece and Bulgaria.

The EPHE survey was an analysis to explore and identify behavioral inequalities and their determinants at selected socio-economic categories, applying the same questionnaire on a yearly basis to the same sample. 1,266 children and their families in 7 countries were surveyed, of which 631 boys and 635 girls with an average age of 7 to 9 years.

The existence of a TV in the child’s bedroom or watching TV programs during family meals have been identified as a determining factor. In Romania, a child spends about 22.7 hours a week in front of a screen (computer or TV), while in the Netherlands and Belgium the time spent is about 15 hours. Our country is surpassed only by Bulgaria, with 25 hours. The time spent in front of the computer is monitored equally at the target socio-economic groups: 50% of the parents control the time spent by their children in front of the screen.

Statement from Silvia Bucur, President of PRAIS Foundation:

“The EPHE study shows that parents’ socio-economic status is a determining factor that influences the lifestyle habits, implicitly the incidence of overweight and obesity in children. Thus, children in families with a high socio-economic status eat more fruits and vegetables and spend less time in front of the television compared to those in families with low socio-economic status. As coordinators of the project’s implementation in the 7 countries, we support the need to analyze all the risk factors that can underlie obesity in children, in order for us to be able to prevent it.”

Impact study

The EPHE survey is an exploratory research intended to identify behavioral inequalities and their determining factors, among selected socio-economic categories, by applying the same questionnaire on the same sample every year. 1,266 children and their families were surveyed in 7 countries. Among them, 631 boys and 635 girls, aged 7 to 9.

Parental control over the time spent in front of a screen is crucial.

The presence of a television set in the child’s bedroom or watching TV during family meals were identified as determining factors. In Romania, a child spends about 22.7 hours a week in front of a (computer or TV) screen, while the time spent in the Netherlands and Belgium is around 15 hours. Our country is surpassed only by Bulgaria, with 25 hours. The time spent in front of the computer is monitored equally in the target socio-economic groups: 50% of the parents control the time spent by their children in front of the screen.

Health inequality: traditional prevention does not reach those who need it the most.

According to the study, the economic and educational status of the family can be associated with approx. 25% of obesity prevalence in men and 50% in women. Disadvantaged categories of the population do not have equal access to traditional prevention methods, because of the low participation or awareness rate, so that the children born in a family with a low socio-economic status are at a disadvantage when it comes to the prevalence of obesity.

At the end of the three years of implementation and three surveys, the EPHE study highlighted the benefits of constant access to information, education and engagement already at an early age in changing lifestyle habits and creating a favorable environment for the overall health of the families. Parental practices at home can be improved through direct actions at school and in the community. Free access to educational materials, open lessons about the importance of a balanced diet including all food categories, fruits and vegetables, daily physical activity, creative workshops and theatre plays on the importance of drinking water and sleeping are just some of the interventions of the national movement „I’m living healthy, too!” – SETS implemented and monitored for 3 years on the same respondent sample.

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EPHE