Adolescents Surveillance System for Obesity in Europe. A pioneering project to prevent obesity in Italy using e-technology: the ASSO Project Adolescence Surveillance System for Obesity Prevention

Abstract

Adolescents’ obesity is a major concern in our modern life; it could lead to significant increase in the rate of obese in the future generations and consequently the health budget. The ASSO Project in Italy (Adolescence Surveillance System for Obesity prevention) is tackling this new pandemic through multi facets monitoring system using the new e-technology (life style, diet, smoking, drinking and exercise habits). The project is in process of being implemented in Italy after a pilot in the South of the country. The objective of this short communication is to provide an overview of the project, the method applied, its implementation and the very first exercise related results in more than 800 teenagers. 78% of the assessed teenagers are found to be sedentary. More than three quarters of the 22% active adolescents are being such because they undertake sports at competitive or non-competitive levels. The cardiorespiratory endurance of these adolescent’ sample is found to be very weak with no difference between the under 16 and the over 16 years old, thing which will raise many concerns.