Cover Story

1. Battling Canada's obesity epidemic

1. Focus on children
2. Focus on schools
3. Focus on early life
4. The neurobiology of obesity
5. All in the enzymes
6. Beyond biology

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1. Virtual healthcare
2. The immune system’s foot soldiers

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1. Voices from the community
2. Responding to the reader
3. Cool Tools
4. Researchers in the making
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About the researcher

Dr. Paul Veugelers receives funding from Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions, funded by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Endowment Fund. He is a full professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. He is also a Canada Research Chair in Population Health and director of the Population Health Intervention Research Unit in the School of Public Health.

Selected publication

Davidson Z, Simen-Kapeu A, Veugelers PJ. Neighborhood determinants of self-efficacy, physical activity, and body weights among Canadian children. Health & Place. 2010;16:567–572.

Recommended websites

APPLE Schools

REAL Kids Alberta

CLASS study

Focus on schools

Although treatment is critical, it is only part of the solution to obesity. Dr. Paul Veugelers, a professor at the University of Alberta's School of Public Health, is one of a few researchers whose work focuses on primary prevention of overweight and subsequent chronic diseases. The overarching objective of the research is to advise on and direct new health policies and population intervention programs to prevent chronic diseases and improve quality of life.

Dr. Veugelers' work has revealed that school health programs can make a big difference. While at Dalhousie University, he led the Children's Lifestyle and School-performance Study (CLASS) of 5,200 Grade 5 students in Nova Scotia. His team measured height and weight, assessed dietary intake, and collected information on activities. The results from one school program stood out—children had substantially healthier diets, were 59% less likely to be overweight, and were 72% less likely to be obese. These schools used several strategies to "make the healthy choice the easy choice."

Dr. Veugelers is now taking the same approach in a project in Alberta. The Alberta Project Promoting active Living & healthy Eating in Schools (APPLE Schools), which runs from January 2008 to June 2011, aims to change the school environment such that the healthy choice becomes the easy choice for students. One school health facilitator is assigned to each APPLE School to work with the entire school community—parents, students, staff, and community members—to identify current policies and programs that support healthy eating and active living choices for students. The project team tracks changes in nutrition, physical activity, knowledge, and attitudes of students.

"Behavioural change takes decades, but that's no reason to be discouraged; rather, it's the reason to start right away," explains Dr. Veugelers. "While the APPLE Schools project is a start, we will need programs that promote healthy eating and active living in schools across the country. With mounting healthcare costs, these programs will ensure better health and reduce the burden of chronic disease in the long term."