IMPLEMENTATION OF
OVERCOMING OBESITY PROGRAM
MODEL TO SIX FINNISH MUNICIPALITIES
Ulla Ollinkoski
Project Planner
City of Seinäjoki

PROJECTS GOALS
• The target of the modelling project for City of Seinäjoki´s
Overcoming Obesity Programme is to adapt it for the use of
other municipalities
• Another target is to develop this programme in cooperation
with pilot municipalities of Rovaniemi, Raahe, Sastamala,
Turku, Siilinjärvi and Lapinlahti

PROJECT GOALS
• The City of Seinäjoki´s Overcoming Obesity Programme´s
goal is to prevent children and adolescents to grow up to
adults with overweight
• Another goal is to prevent obesity related diseases in later
years
• From point of view of the programme target groups are
families with children
• From the point of view of the modelling project target
group are the pilot municipalities

THE CITY OF SEINÄJOKI´S
OVERCOMING OBESITY PROGRAMME
• In this development project we operate on three levels at
the same time:
1. Describing the operating model of Seinäjoki
2. Cooperation and implementation of the model with
pilot municipalities
3. Cost effectiveness study

PROGRAMME´S INDICATORS
• Reduction of children´s obesity and overweight is City of
Seinäjoki´s welfare target, where all functions are
committed to during welfare period of 2017-2020
• Weight development among children at age of one and five
years and those on first and fifth class is being monitored at
maternity clinics as well as at school by student health care
services through Effica software
• Breastfeeding activity in the ages of two and six months
• Share of healthy teeth among the inspected

PROGRAMME´S INDICATORS
• Multifunctional prevention of obesity and overweight
among children and adolescents is defined in the
municipalities as part of the achievements for health and
welfare by year 2019
• The objective is to define operational processes,
cooperation and follow-up indicators for use in the various
functions of the municipality for welfare reporting and
follow-up purposes and to estimate cost effectiveness to
support municipality´s decision making

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
• Secondary school of Seinäjoki: Counting powers and
running during mathematics lessons (girls vs. boys)
• Biology lessons: standing by the table (electric tables)
instead of sitting the whole lesson
• In health education lessons: hide your classmate's book and
give a hint of the location to ease up searching
• Elemantary School of Toukolanpuisto: mathematics
teaching in an equipped class (group work)

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
• During breaks a lot happens outdoors with various
equipment encouriging for exercise
• Robot coding takes place during computer classes
• Elementary School of Törnävä provides skate boarding
opportunity, which corresponds to EU standards
• Exercise song for the first grade kids: head, shoulder, knees
& toes (speeding up all the time)
• Learning mathematics through play

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
• Satulinna Day Care Center in Halkosaari has rooms with
different themes such as princess room and a lot of
different activities; “traffic rules” at corridors, “steps of
mathematics” and climbing walls
• Heart-friendly meals and snacks are being served at all
schools in Seinäjoki
• There are no soda nor candy vending machines at schools

HOW DO WE SUCCEED ?
• Health in All Policies - activity at its best
• Multifunctional and border crossing development, where
the whole management of the city is committed to
• Cooperation with the families

HOW DO WE SUCCEED?
• Systematic lifestyle guidance at maternity clinics, at school
and student health care services as well as in early
childhood education
• Development of group dining procedures
• Development is made possible in each and every function
by skillful and professionally trained personnel (retirement
and turnover of staff create challenges to management,
maintenance of way of working and orientation)

THANK YOU !