CLOSING MEETING

On November 5th & 6th, Aprifel organized a restitution meeting of the European programme “Fruit and Veg 4 Health”. After three years of action targeting French doctors, this event aimed to present the results collected and to think together about ways to extend abroad this initiative. Representatives from the health, food and higher education sectors, scientists, decision-makers and civil society are invited to participate. A 100% digital event, with online conferences over two half-days.

The link between health and food has been known for a long time. However, nutritionally poor quality food is now one of the leading risk factors for health, causing as many deaths as tobacco or alcohol consumption2. Faced with the epidemic of obesity and chronic diseases, improving the quality of our diet is therefore a major public health issue. To improve this, doctors – particularly general practitioners, paediatricians and gynaecologists – are key players. However, especially due to a lack of theoretical and practical knowledge in nutrition, many doctors consider nutritional advice to be a difficult field to tackle. In order to support their action, the “Fruit and Veg 4 Health” information programme, co-financed by the European Union over the period 2018-2020, has two objectives:

To provide doctors with knowledge and practical tools on healthy eating in order to help them engage in dialogue with their patients
To inform the general public about the health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption and helping them to take action

Sharing results and extend the action

After three years of action at French level, Aprifel is organising a restitution meeting programme on November 5th and 6th, 2020. This event will provide an opportunity to present and share the results collected, to identify ways of optimisation and to think about ways to extend this initiative, in particular at a European level. It will be co-chaired by Professors Elio Riboli (Imperial College of London) and Martine Laville (University Claude-Bernard Lyon 1). The meeting is aimed at representatives from the world of health, nutrition, food and higher education, as well as scientists, decision-makers and civil society.

1 Fruit and vegetable for health
2 GBD 2017 Diet Collaborators. Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet. Published online April 3, 2019