Five questions about Centre for Childhood Health
The Centre for Childhood Health works to ensure that all children and young people in Denmark have equal opportunities for a healthy childhood and a good youth life.
Our core mission is to generate new, evidence-based knowledge about children’s and young people’s weight development and well-being – and to translate this knowledge into practice. We do this through concrete initiatives aimed at children, their families, the professionals around them, and the environments in which children grow up. These initiatives are designed to promote well-being, reduce stigma, and prevent weight developments that may affect an individual’s physical and mental health.
We therefore investigate what shapes children’s health and well-being – from social inequalities and communities to eating habits, biological factors, commercial influences, and opportunities for play and physical activity.
Our goal is to contribute new knowledge and create health-promoting solutions and environments that make it easier for all children and young people in Denmark to live healthy and fulfilling lives.
Our vision is to promote healthy weight and well-being for children and young people in Denmark. We aim to create a future where everyone has equal opportunities for a healthy childhood and a fulfilling youth – full of well-being, joy, and inclusive communities.
We want to generate new knowledge about health and well-being and translate it into action. We also want to test new approaches to create evidence and understanding.
Together with municipalities, researchers, and other partners, we will develop solutions that strengthen health, well-being, and body confidence, while counteracting prejudices related to higher weight.
We work to create environments that make it easier for everyone to live healthy lives.
The Centre for Childhood Health is the result of a collaboration between the Danish Ministry of the Interior and Health and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
As the first public-private initiative of its kind, we have a strong foundation to create lasting change for children and young people.
With a broadly composed board and a ten-year time horizon, we work purposefully to develop solutions that can make a difference for future generations.
Read more in the centre’s framework description, prepared by our two founding partners.
We work to promote the health and well-being of children and young people, and in the coming years we will focus particularly on two key areas:
Causes and connections – generating new knowledge
We investigate the complex causes and relationships between weight and well-being, including social inequalities, the impact of pregnancy, the role of fathers, and societal norms.
Healthy environments – supporting change
We develop and implement health-promoting methods that create healthy environments across daycare centers, schools, leisure activities, and local communities. Through partnerships with municipalities, civil society, and private actors, we work to create lasting solutions and strengthen children’s health and well-being.
We aim to make new knowledge and insights accessible to professionals, decision-makers, and parents, so they can be put into practice. Read more about our four areas of focus.
At the Centre for Childhood Health, we work based on the centre’s strategic framework, which includes nine goals that form the basis for our annual action plans. The action plans set the strategic direction for our projects and are approved annually by our board.
We select projects based on research, dialogue with relevant stakeholders, input from the centre’s Advisory Board, and inquiries submitted to the centre. Action plans are reviewed and approved once a year by the centre’s board.