Healthy future

'Healthy Future' is one of the four themes selected from the Theme-based Collaboration programme. This programme fulfils the ambition in UvA’s Strategic Plan to innovate research and education through collaboration, both between disciplines within the UvA and with external partners. The theme 'healthy future' involves mental and physical health in relation to cultural factors, behaviour, participation in society and the realisation of equal opportunities.

Projects

In summer 2022, budgets were allocated to the following projects:

Stress and the intergenerational transmission of (un)healthy behaviour
Some families suffer from a disproportionate accumulation of mental and physical health problems, such as depression, addiction, obesity and diabetes. We currently know little about the risk factors underlying these. It is likely that early and frequent exposure to stressors (e.g. poverty and family conflict) and susceptibility to the effects of adversity play a major role.

This project will develop a model in which the risk factors and mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of health and health behaviour within families at high cumulative risk can be identified, investigated and understood.

The first year will start with 1) formulating a theoretical model based on extensive literature review; 2) empirically testing the model with existing data from different health cohorts and 3) conducting interviews with families and Amsterdam institutions.

The aim is to conduct research on effective interventions at a later stage.
- Faculties involved: FMG, FNWI, FdG/Amsterdam UMC and FGw
- Contact person: Bram Orobio de Castro (FMG)
Towards a healthy diet for all
Obesity is a major problem among Amsterdam's population. An unhealthy food environment is a major cause of this. Not only are fast food restaurants and delivery services increasingly appearing in Amsterdam, people are also increasingly exposed to food chain advertisements online via smart algorithms.

The aim of this project is to set up a five-year programme to better understand the drivers and barriers to accessing healthy food, and to investigate what policy solutions are needed for a healthier (physical and online) food environment in the city of Amsterdam.

This interdisciplinary project builds on an existing collaboration with the City of Amsterdam and the GGD. The first year of the project focuses on mapping the online food environment, and further setting up and broadening interdisciplinary collaborations around this research theme.
- Faculties involved: FdG/Amsterdam UMC, FdR, FMG
- Contact persons: Karien Stronks (FdG, UMC Amsterdam) and Anniek de Ruijter (FdR)