Orangina Schweppes

Promoting a healthy lifestyle

Mens sana in corporate sano

We believe that being a responsible company means to improve our products in a long-term and significant fashion,
to promote responsible consumption and to support social projects that are dear to our hearts.
In this section you will find the steps and commitments that Orangina Schweppes has taken in this field.

• Nutrition
• Sport
• Hydration
• Epode

• The soft drinks industry in the context of childhood obesity
• Mobilizing stakeholders
• EPODE European network (EEN)
• Successful initiatives

The soft drinks industry in the context of childhood obesity

The prevalence of childhood obesity has been rising those years, especially because of a high calorie intake, the absence of physical activity and a low consumption of fruits and vegetables.

As a responsible group offering products based on natural ingredients and promoting healthy lifestyle, Orangina Schweppes does feel concerned about today's health and obesity problems. Thus, we have decided to support the EPODE program (Together, let's prevent childhood obesity), the only community based obesity prevention program existing in the beverage industry.

Just as Orangina Schweppes, EPODE aims at being close to the consumers' life and needs, combining pleasure and health.

Mobilizing stakeholders

EPODE is a community based intervention aiming at reducing childhood obesity in mobilizing in a sustained manner local stakeholders and cities' organization.

It fosters healthier lifestyle without stigmatizing any product or behaviour and it is based on a well recognized French scientific study which has proven the efficiency of its approach (FLVS healthy towns).

EPODE aims at preventing childhood obesity at local level, focusing on:
- Promoting a balanced, diversified, affordable and pleasant diet
- Encouraging children and families to be less inactive, to exercise on a regular basis

The town being at the heart of the system, it fosters multistakeholder dynamics and promote professional practices to change the environment of the families, making it easier for them to adopt healthier lifestyles.

EPODE European network (EEN)

EPODE is a sustainable European project (2008 to 2010 with the support of the European Commission). The EPODE initiative now extends to over 1.2 million inhabitants in France, Spain (THAO Salud Infantil Programa), and Belgium (VIASANO program). Portugal, UK and Netherlands will also implement the EPODE methodology soon in several cities.

The aim of EEN:

- Mobilizing political, institutional and scientific representatives at European level, about the importance of a multidisciplinary, local and sustainable approach for the prevention of childhood obesity

- Enriching existing methodologies and develop guidelines about the EPODE pillars:
- Importance of the political support
- Scientific evaluation, monitoring and dissemination
- Interest of social marketing and networking techniques
- Evaluation of public-private partnerships (cities, local authorities, institutional partners, private sponsors of reference)

- Identifying European teams willing to implement the EPODE program in their country (taking into account cultural, sociological, economic and political conditions at the local level)

Successful initiatives

Several semesters themes plans were already carried out. Among them:

- Promotion of physical activity encouraging outdoors and indoors games: Physical activity can be funny.
Posters and leaflets were developed for the general public, especially families & 3 -12 kids Local stakeholders were distributed kits for action and methodological guide for action Health professionals were faxed a letter
Local project managers and local steering committees received biannual roadmaps (objectives, information, advice for the on-going theme)

- Promotion of fruits consumption through a diversity of foods (fresh, canned, in beverages, frozen etc.), based on taste learning and pleasure:
France: 2 a 3 fruits par jour, c'est essentiel pour la santé
Spain: Esta temporada tiene sabor a fruta
Belgium: Gezonder eten, meer bewegen, daar gaan we voor!

As of September 2009, fruits consumption targeting disadvantaged populations in EPODE towns will be promoted.

Success to date of the EPODE program is measured by a large field mobilization in pilot cities and by the encouraging evolution of the weight of children in those cities.

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