Adolescence surveillance system for obesity prevention (ASSO) in Europe: A pioneering project to prevent obesity using e-technology

Abstract

Adolescents' obesity is a major concern in our modern life that could lead to significant increase in the rate of obese future generations and consequently in the health budget. The ASSO (Adolescence Surveillance System for Obesity prevention) project in Italy is tackling this new pandemic using the new e-technology through a multi facets monitoring system on life style including food consumptions, meal patterns and habits, alcohol, smoking, physical activity, fitness and sedentariness, and biological/genetic, and socio-cultural/environmental characteristics of adolescents. The project has been recently piloted in the South of the country. This chapter summarizes the design and structure of the ASSO system, its implementation and the results of an evaluation process for its possible extension to the whole Italian territory and to other European realities as a national surveillance system.