Network

There is a platform linked to the Knowledge Centre for Obesity. The Knowledge Centre for Obesity Platform meets four times a year. It includes representatives from numerous organisations (such as all the health promotion institutions) and professional groups in the field of obesity. As a result, the Knowledge Centre for Obesity has established a wide-ranging network in the field of the prevention and treatment of obesity.

The Knowledge Centre for Obesity can also call on an extensive international network. Members of the Knowledge Centre for Obesity participate in, for example, the International Obesity Task Force and the Task Force on Obesity Prevention of the International Life Science Institute.

Overview

The Knowledge Centre for Obesity maintains an overview of initiatives for the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity, encourages collaboration, identifies difficulties and provides coordination. As a result, the organisation prevents the duplication of projects, encourages collaboration in evaluations and ensures that new developments and results are used efficiently. This has already resulted in a number of very successful initiatives and partnerships. The Knowledge Centre for Obesity also monitors gaps in knowledge and encourages research in these areas.

Switchboard

The Knowledge Centre for Obesity acts as a switchboard between the professions involved and has built up considerable support among them. This is shown by:

• the rapid exchange of information between, for example, doctors in child health clinics, school medical officers, paediatricians, dieticians, GPs and internists;
• the use of each other's expertise;
• the rapidity with which the screening protocol, the bridging plan and the obesity monitoring system have been diffused and adopted in practice.

Representation

The Knowledge Centre for Obesity is represented in various projects such as:

• the Academic Collaborative Centre for Child Health Care
• the Zwolle Research Centre for the Prevention of Obesity (OPOZ)