Unfortunately, the percentage of physical inactivity of citizens of the European Union continues to be very high. 42% of EU citizens do not exercise or practice any type of sport (2017). This indicates that the message about the importance of sports and physical activity for a person's health and well-being has not reached significant segments of the population. More and more Europeans are not eating healthy and suffering chronically from stress. In the last 50 and 70 years, our generations have not learned the important guidelines on health and prevention, guidelines that are known today, so it is important to update this information. Not only for the consumer, but also for professionals who work with consumers in the field of health care, sports and healthy lifestyle.

To reach a solution, greater attention should be paid to disseminating knowledge and understanding what a healthier life is for young people, adults, the elderly and also for people with special conditions related to their health such as diabetes, heart disease, post cancer or pregnancy treatments. This is the reason why the European Erasmus + has approved the development of the “New Health 2022” project, for the promotion of health and a healthy lifestyle. AEDESA is the partner in Spain, and its president explains it to us.

An academic center related to Health and Lifestyle will be developed that will provide scientific information and courses to professionals, volunteers and consumers. This information will be easy to obtain, to understand and in addition tools can be used to improve physical activity, healthy eating, mental health, positive health and a healthy lifestyle. The project partners, working together in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Lithuania and Slovakia, will develop education standards for the Lifestyle / Health promoter. A free lifestyle platform will also be developed for the consumer, courses for those who promote health and a healthy lifestyle; also through e-learning (electronic learning). In addition, research will be conducted on the role and impact that the health promoter and healthy lifestyle have on behavioral change in target groups.

The Lifestyle / Health advocate can be a sports professional, a health care professional, a teacher, but also a community worker, member of a sports organization or volunteer. New Health provides them with motivation and knowledge about healthy eating, sports, the danger of an unhealthy life and the use of doping. This group of entities will create and support a European network of Lifestyle / Health promoters.

Below we show a video with the explanation of this project by its different European members that compose it in its development:

This project is coordinated by the New Health Foundation of the Netherlands and the European partners are:

• Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior (ESDRM): Portugal
  
• Europe Active: Belgium
• Fitness Federation: Belgium
• Lithuanian Association of Health and Fitness Clubs: Lithuania
• European Association for Sport, Exercise and Health (AEDESA): Spain
• Comenius University (Faculty of Physical Education and Sports): Slovakia

The panel of experts is made up of:

• European Network of Sport Education (ENSE): Austria
  
• Movisie: Holland
• Knowledge Center Sports (KCSportNL): Netherlands
• NL Active: Netherlands
• Jan Middelkamp: Holland

Last Thursday, March 5, 2020, the project partners met in Eindhoven, Holland, in a successful launch meeting of the project that ended on Friday, March 6, 2020.

This program is supported by the Erasmus + program of the European Union.