The nutrition department of Liverpool John Moores University was awarded the 2011 ECOG and Louis Bonduelle Research Award for their "SportsLinx" study on childhood obesity. This study monitored the eating habits of over 6,000 children in Liverpool schools since 2008, and found increases in fruit and vegetable consumption. ECOG and the Louis Bonduelle Foundation have partnered for three years to offer a €10,000 prize for research on childhood obesity, which impacts over 22 million children in the EU.

1. Press Release
09 September 2011
ECOG and Louis Bonduelle prize awarded for research against childhood obesity
On 9 September, the ECOG and Louis Bonduelle Research Award 2011 was bestowed on the
nutrition department of Liverpool John Moores University.
The winning team, represented by Dr Lynne Boddy, Dr Allan Hackett, Ms Liz Lamb and
Professor Gareth Stratton, was rewarded for their work titled: "SportsLinx, a cross-city
partnership". This is a programme of research and study into the eating habits of children in
Liverpool. This study, conducted since 2008, has enabled 6,000 children from around a
hundred Liverpool schools to be made aware of the necessity of engaging in physical activity
and eating a balanced diet. Furthermore, the consumption of fruit and vegetables has
increased since the study was launched. This programme has been the subject of 17 scientific
publications in peer review journals.
This third ECOG and Louis Bonduelle Research Award was presented at the Hotel Palatinus
in Pécs (Hungary) during ECOG's 21st European conference.
A European partnership
ECOG (European Childhood Obesity Group) and the Louis Bonduelle Foundation have
worked together for three years and offer a European prize of €10,000 for research work or
public health action against childhood obesity.
There are 22 million overweight children in the countries of the European Union, 5 million of
whom are obese, and this number is growing by 330,000 each year. This is why the Louis
Bonduelle Foundation has joined with the European group ECOG (European Childhood
Obesity Group) and set up a €10,000 prize to reward research work or public health actions
against child obesity.
ECOG was set up in 1990 and now brings together more than 150 European scientists
involved in research on childhood obesity. The group regularly organises scientific seminars
and conferences to bring together the most active researchers in the field.
ECOG wishes to increase exchanges and encourage this area of research. Within the group,
members from different countries have the opportunity to set up shared research. Find out
more: www.ECOG-obesity.eu.

2. Through this partnership, the Louis Bonduelle Foundation, whose aim is to promote public
interest in vegetables by working to bring about long-term change in eating habits, upholds its
commitment to supporting research on important topics in nutrition and eating habits. Find
out more: www.fondation-louisbonduelle.org

3. Louis Bonduelle Foundation mission
The Louis Bonduelle Foundation has set itself the task of changing eating habits in the long
term by ensuring that the benefits of vegetables serve the interests of society. The foundation
was set up in October 2004 by the Bonduelle Group and intends to act in the long term by
giving everyone useful, realistic and attractive ways of getting vegetables into their diet.
With this aim, the Louis Bonduelle Foundation:
1- informs the general public, teachers and health professionals through its website
www.fondation-louisbonduelle.org, a site designed to spread interactively as much relevant
data as possible on vegetables and their benefits;
2 - acts in the field:
- by carrying out practical targeted actions aimed at changing the image of vegetables
thus leading to an increase in their consumption on a daily basis,
- by supporting initiatives through two international calls for proposals per year. Since
2008, 18 projects have been supported and have already touched nearly 40,000 people.
3 - provides active support for scientific research on important topics in nutrition and eating
habits from a medical, sociological or agricultural point of view.
The Foundation therefore strives to be an active participant in the development of knowledge
and in the dissemination of this knowledge.