Collaboration For Kids
WHAT is CFK?
An ambitious, scientific evidence-based project of voluntary collaboration between parents, carers, children of all ages, education professionals, doctors, dentists, nurses, researchers, academics, teachers, nutritionists and more, working together to make eating real natural foods fashionable again and to limit the consumption of ultra-processed foods to reduce the ever increasing incidence of obesity and chronic disease.
WHY CFK? Some Facts to Fear:
- 25% of 4-5 year olds and 41% of 10-11 year olds are overweight/obese (NHS Digital, 2021)
- Obese children are more likely to become obese adults with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke,TD2 as well as some cancers,
- >60% of children’s diets come from UPFs (Chang et al, 2021).
What kids say about being overweight
QUOTES from the CFK Project Leaders
“We want to inspire children and their families to make changes to their eating behaviours, that will make them healthier and happier”
“We already have the proof that what we’re doing today doesn’t work: Children are getting fatter, unhealthier and unhappier. CFK is committed to innovate learning to find solutions that will work to reverse this”
“This project focuses on meeting children and families through many different ‘touch points’ in their lives – building understanding for the difference between food that builds and maintains and edible compositions that pretend to be food but do more harm than good, based on simple and basic biochemistry.”
“We want to use all our creativity, innovation and energy to find solutions that work in real life to deal with this crisis of worsening health of our children”
WHERE Science meets the Real World
CFK is a project calling our communities to preventative action. It aims to use up-to-date and robust scientific evidence to deliver key messages in a variety of innovative ways, that inspire, challenge and support those who need help.
“The science is clear about the harms of processed foods. Now we simply have to make sure these facts are no longer hidden and present them in a way that helps young people make positive changes!”
Our volunteers have the active support of leaders in nutrition, clinical practice, education and research, who understand what works ‘on the ground’ in their specific areas. They are passionate about helping to reverse the increasing rates of obesity in children and worsening physical and mental health in young people that can ultimately lead to serious health problems and reduced life-expectancy.
Singing from the Same SONGSHEET
This project is about Real and Natural Foods the way nature intended. Ie; the way evolution designed humans to eat and obtain essential nutrients for optimum health. Finding ways to help people choose foods that build and maintain their bodies and brains. Avoiding processed, ‘filler foods’ that do not supply necessary nutrients, and worse, may actually cause damage to organs and build and store excess amounts of fat.
STRUCTURE of CFK
the CFK structure is based on a matrix of cooperation between teams of 70+ volunteer experts. Heidi Giaever, a nutrition consultant and food addiction counsellor, and Dr Ian Lake, a GP and founder member of the Public Health Collaboration (PHC), initiated the coordination of this collaboration, backed and advised by the PHC board and trustees. David Sogan, originally a Zoologist, an active member of the PHC, with extensive experience of establishing and managing charities and delivering health promoting interventions to school children both in the UK and internationally, has joined Heidi in the leadership of the project.
An Advisory Board of clinicians, academics, researchers, statisticians and data specialists, has the role of guiding and supporting the project teams focusing on the science, clinical study aspects and quality control.
The CFK TEAMS
The Team Leaders lead a number of delivery teams that meet children in various aspects of their lives; from primary care and dental surgeries to toddler groups, schools, institutions and even food retail. All are experts in their field and are tasked with employing evidence-based science to identify what works practically in their ‘space’ with respect to chosen measurable criteria of improved health and wellbeing. The bonding characteristic of CFK is their passion for making a difference. Prioritising a real-food, nutrient-dense diet plays a large part in this and, crucially, Focus Groups made up of children, parents, grandparents and/or carers will be asked to evaluate all proposed education materials and delivery strategies created to ensure the final interventions delivered are practical, usable and ideally inspiring and empowering to children and family units.
The DELIVERABLES
One of the ultimate objectives of the project is of course healthier, happier children and adults. In practical terms this means we want to produce deliverable educational materials and identify support needs, as well as to measure outcomes and present data from the CFK project that will be summarised in a publishable paper, with the help of researchers and data analysts. Our hope is that this project will therefore become a springboard for other initiatives in the future and will result in training materials and tools that can be shared amongst and within UK communities, and internationally.
FUNDING
CFK currently operates without funding but funding will become necessary in future, and is currently being sought in accordance CFK’s Funding Policy and with the approval of the PHC.
Project DURATION
The development of training materials, delivery interventions, piloting and evaluation are expected to take 2-3 years, after which the project can be scaled up throughout the UK and adapted for international audiences.
For more information, or to join the CFK project, please contact: [email protected]
Interested in joining us?
We have 9+ vacancies:
1. A strategist with Human Resources, Diversity and Inclusion experience and passion, to join the overall project Leadership Team.
2. A Team Leader to lead the Education Contents Team and volunteers interested in working as part of this team that holds the crucial role of providing the common key messages to be delivered by all Delivery Teams.
3. Experienced and talented Analysts and Critics of the robustness of scientific evidence to back the Key Messages. Also to join the Contents Team!
4. Primary School workers (teachers, administrators, supply teachers, retired professionals from primary education)
5. Parent & Toddler Team members (anyone interested or with experience from this important formative area of children’s lives)
6. Food Retail/ sales / purchasing people (anyone interested or with experience from food retail and passionate about making Food Retail a responsible partner in supporting sustainable improved metabolic health of our children)
7. An IT & Data Protection Specialist for Secure & Efficient Sharing of Data (GDPR and experience of data sharing in projects)
8. People who are currently working or interested in (Government) Institutions and/or Children’s Charities, to lead and share the workload and opportunities for creating the strategy for this team within CFK.
9. A dental nurse or oral health educator (can be retired) to join the Dental Care Professionals Delivery Team.
10. A part time Administration Assistant, to support the CFK Leadership and work in partnership with other administrators, to share and improve the efficiency of the administration workload in this growing project.
More information
Please read more about vacancies here.