News
NutriwellB Online Training Program
Misinformation and fake news are an urgent problem in our society. This happens also in nutrition and wellbeing habits, and young people are especially vulnerable. This is the basis of NutriwellB project, to address the proliferation of fake news and misinformation related to nutrition and health, responding to the adverse impact of false information on public health, gender discrimination, and reinforcing negative stereotypes and this is the motivation for which we have developed the upcoming NutriwellB Online Training Program.
What you’ll learn?
The curriculum developed covers those areas that arose as important in previous activities of the project, including the 5 national reports in WP2. Three modules are envisaged in the training, in this order:
Fact-checking and critical thinking.
Nutritional health.
Wellness habits.
Here are some of the learning outcomes of the course:
Understand the main concepts related to digital marketing, analytics and how they are applied when a campaign is designed to persuade customers, thinking critically and identifying “low ethical tactics”.
Be aware of individual dietary needs, the value of nutritional health in general, the importance of their own well-being (including the physical, emotional and mental aspects) habits and to always rely on information received from reliable sources of information.
Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills to prevent the influence of media and social media content on their own nutrition and well-being habits (e.g., separating popular trends from evidence-based practices).
Be capable of developing and maintaining healthy eating habits and well-being routines or habits according to their personal needs.
Target group
This course is designed for Higher Education Students of every discipline, without the need of further specialization. Our project and this training are especially focused on young women, but every gender will be welcomed and admitted.
Materials will be offered in local languages, so it is not needed any special qualification in foreign languages. As it will be delivered as online training, it is recommended that students have experience in online courses and some minimum digital skills.
Webinar Recap:
Highlights from the eBook Launch Event
On June 7th, the online launch event for the eBook on the NutriwellB project - Nutrition and WellBeing Fact-Checking for Higher Education - took place. Professor Cristóbal Fernández Muñoz from the Complutense University of Madrid provided an introduction, outlining the project's objectives and significance. This project aims to combat misinformation about products and health through a digital platform, fostering digital literacy among young people and educators. The main goal is to enhance training and develop an interactive platform for effective information verification.
Following this, Professor Elisa Brey delivered a presentation titled "International Perspectives on Nutrition and Wellbeing Fact-Checking." The presentation included insights from the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the European Commission, highlighting the global importance of fact-checking in the fields of nutrition and wellness. This emphasis on international collaboration underscored the need for reliable information to promote health and well-being worldwide.
During the event, project partners presented national case studies, each providing unique perspectives on fact-checking in nutrition and wellbeing:
- Italy, presented by Giusy Volpe, highlighted the Italian Ministry of Health's ‘Education for Proper Nutrition’ campaign, emphasizing the importance of education in promoting healthy eating habits.
- North Macedonia, presented by Andrijana Bogdanovska, discussed national nutrition legislation and public health programs aimed at promoting healthy eating habits.
- Portugal, presented by Ivone Ferreira, showcased the National Program for the Promotion of Healthy Eating, hosted on the Portuguese government's ‘O Nutrimento’ blog. This platform serves as a hub for sharing news, regulations, and recommendations related to healthy eating.
- Germany, presented by Aventia Wilona, outlined the efforts of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) to promote balanced diets and combat misinformation in the field of nutrition.
Ainhoa Ezquiaga-Bravo then presented reliable sources and conclusions on nutrition and wellbeing, summarizing key information in five minutes to ensure accurate fact-checking in this field. The event concluded with a lively debate among participants, lasting twenty minutes, during which various national and international perspectives on fact-checking in nutrition and wellbeing were discussed.
This event provided a comprehensive overview of how different nations and international organizations tackle the challenge of fact-checking in nutrition and wellbeing, significantly contributing to the educational mission of the NutriwellB project.
The NutriwellB project (2022-1-ES01-KA220-HED-000089546) has been selected and co-financed by the Erasmus Plus program and the Spanish National Agency for Education within the framework of the Erasmus+ KA220 Cooperation partnerships in Higher Education program.
How can we avoid fake news on nutrition?
Everything you need to know about NutriWellB’s E-book
The aim of NUTRIWELLB is to promote fact-checking related to nutrition and well-being, to respond to the alarming increase of fake news and misinformation in these fields. For that reason, as part of the research work, an e-book has been published by the Nutriwellb team.
Since there was no clear consensus in scientific literature or among the public about the precise definition of fake news, this e-book adopts a wide approach and attempts to address the problems deriving from a variety of factors: the overwhelming availability of information online that hinders cross-checking and assessment of the reliability of sources, misrepresentation of nutritional information, the promotion of nutritional choices for economic profit by lifestyle influencers or assumptions about nutrition and health that are present in everyday culture but rely more on faulty cause-attribution rather than on scientific findings.
In an era like the one we live in, dominated by clicks, likes and alarmist headlines, it is essential to choose reliable sources from which to obtain correct information on scientific issues. The choice of our sources of information is especially important in a field as changing as nutrition, so we must contrast the sources of everything we read: it is the only way to be able to form critical opinion.
The growing interest of the population in health has had a positive impact on the number of studies and the availability of funds for the scientific community. This abundance, nevertheless, has to deal with a phenomenon called “infoxication”, in which the quantity of information severely hampers discernment between up-to-date and sufficiently proven information and obsolete or biased statements. For this reason, research for this project has prioritised applying international consensus from official sources, such as the World Health Organization or national health ministries, together with academic publications.
The main objective was to offer specialised information and tools for higher education students, professors and other interested stakeholders to debunk fake news about food habits in the mass media (the press, advertising and magazines) and the Internet.
International regulations on nutrition and fake news were used in the introduction, with references to the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and regulations from the European Union. The next two sections were devoted to national legislation on nutrition and fake news, good practices on nutrition, well-being and fact-checking related to online content. Both topics were analysed more specifically for selected countries: Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Portugal and Spain. They offer references for stakeholders interested in the topic regarding which aspects of the national contexts are important in order to develop strategies against fake news on nutrition and well-being from a legal and a social perspective.
References to national legislations and good practices are followed by specific recommendations for fact-checking online content in respect of nutrition and well-being. This section includes information on nutritional literacy and food labelling; identification of fake news and media labelling; mass media and dietary behaviour; idealised representations and gender stereotypes in social media, the social media and eating disorders.
The last section of the e-book is a toolkit for nutrition and well-being fact-checking for higher education, including some preliminary findings based on a questionnaire that interested stakeholders or professors can implement to measure nutrition and well-being fact-checking among targeted audiences. That section also examines fake news compared to real information on food and nutrition identified through reliable scientific and public sources. The sources of information for the first two sections are regulations, recommendations, global strategies and national legislation related to nutrition, health and fact-checking. In the third section, good practices refer to initiatives by public and private stakeholders. On the other hand, the sources of information for the last two sections are academic contributions from nutritionists and experts in fake news and misinformation.
You can download the e-book for free here
Continuous Collaboration
of NutriWellB Partners
The collaboration among NutriWellB partners has been constant since the beginning of the project, and it has played a fundamental role in guaranteeing that the project continues advancing according to the proposal. This continuous collaboration has been enhanced thanks to the transnational project meetings that have taken place since the beginning of the project.
The consortium “kicked-off” the project on February 6th and 7th, 2023, at Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) in Spain. The first meeting was more than a formal introduction. During the meeting, the consortium discussed the fundamental aspects of the project and established the initial roadmap for project activities by brainstorming and discussing expectations for the main work packages (WPs).
The consortium reunited hybridly for their second time at Nova University of Lisbon on September 18th and 19th, 2023, seven months after their first meeting. The main focus of this meeting was to assess the progress made across various work packages and further refine the development of the course and the dissemination strategies. The meeting was also enriched with the vibrant culture of Portugal.
Most recently, on April 2nd and 3rd, 2024, the third project meeting took place in Skopje, North Macedonia. The meeting was also conducted in a hybrid mode, to allow all partners to contribute effectively. The discussions were primarily focused on WP3, WP4, and WP5, which are essential for the completion of the project on schedule.
The meeting was mainly centered on the development of the Training Course and its implementation. The meeting provided a valuable opportunity to review content development guidelines, assess the current status of each partner's contributions, and address technical queries essential for the piloting session. The partners also discussed the best way to recruit the participants and deliver the content in order to be engaging, the practical assignments, the video for each module and other minor issues. The plan and progress on the creation of the Guide for Higher Education and the Awareness Campaigns were also presented. The meeting resulted in a clear idea of the goals and objectives of the campaigns.
Overall, the onsite transnational project meetings have played an essential role in the implementation of the project. The meetings have allowed the partners in the consortium to strengthen the team spirits as each had the opportunity to learn more about each other beyond the screen. They have been authentic trust-building experiences that would improve the efficiency and working relationships of the team.
The consortium looks forward to the final meeting that will be held in Madrid in October 2024!