The Zero Obesity Project, carried out in 2009 and 2010, with the support of the Directorate-General for Health and resulted from a collaboration between the Center for Studies and Research in Social Dynamics and Health (CEIDSS) and the Municipalities of Melgaço, Mealhada, Cascais, Beja, Silves and Faro with their respective Health Care Centers. 

The project, awarded with two prizes, was scientifically supervised by the former Platform Against Obesity of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), whose main objective was to promote healthy lifestyles in overweight children, from 6 to 10 years old, in a family environment. Health centers and municipalities were responsible for screening overweight children (pre-obesity and obesity) in each of the municipalities.

The project comprised the following phases: 

• Food counseling sessions for individual child obesity consultations;
• Healthy cooking workshops;
• Group food counseling sessions.

Each child participating in the project was offered 4 childhood obesity consultations. In order to standardize nutritional monitoring, the nutritionists of the POZ project provided detailed training on the procedure to be followed in each of the consultations. This training resulted in the child obesity consultations manual, which includes all the contents taught and discussed during the course, as well as the materials to be applied during the consultations. In each municipality, 8 healthy cooking workshops were held, aimed at promoting and increasing skills in terms of healthy cooking in the family. These were conducted by a Chef, previously trained by the scientific coordination of the project, taking into account the principles of healthy eating and the nutritional needs of children between 6 and 10 years old.

Nutritionists, trained by the scientific coordination of POZ, conducted group food counseling sessions, where playful activities were carried out within the scope of food education and promotion of healthy lifestyles. In each of the municipalities, 4 of these sessions took place.

Obtained with the execution of these projects

• Skills development in families that have improved knowledge and promoted healthier habits;
• Improvement of the nutritional status of the participating children.