Research Group Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment

Everyone knows that exercise is healthy and important. Yet it is difficult to get and stay active. For example, care professionals see that despite their efforts, more than half the clients relapse into unhealthy exercise behaviour within a year. That is why Leiden University of Applied Sciences, The Hague University of Applied Sciences and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences have developed the BiBoZ method. The research is led by THUAS’ Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment research group.

More and more children in the Netherlands are overweight, don't exercise enough and have poor motor skills. For children to become healthy and fit adults, it is important to encourage them to exercise more. One way to achieve this is to better facilitate outdoor play. Playing outdoors not only has a positive effect on physical and mental health, but also on motor, cognitive and social skills.

Children are exercising less and less, resulting in underdeveloped motor skills. Research shows that these children therefore do not have a fair chance of an active, healthy lifestyle. To get a better grip on children's motor skills, it is important to be able to measure them on a large scale. That is why the Healthy Lifestyle in a Stimulating Environment research group has developed a motor skills test together with the VU University Amsterdam: the MQ scan.

Playful interactive technology such as 'exertion games' can be helpful in getting children to exercise. These interfaces, which use the entire human body, are growing in popularity. Take the piano stairs in an underground metro station, for example, or the Nintendo Wii. Previous research has shown that these interfaces also offer significant benefits such as encouraging social interaction. However, consciously using playful interactive technology requires more knowledge about its design and application.

The 'Blended Care – Better Care' project applies a combination of offline and online care in helping overweight children adopt a healthier lifestyle. The application of digital technology offers many possibilities. Consider an informative app with game elements, for instance, that assists and motivates the child and their parents in between consultations to exercise more and eat more healthily. The Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment research group is researching the optimum way for such an application to work and how it fits into the regular lifestyle interventions.

Young Dutch people do not eat enough fruit and vegetables. That is a concern because their unhealthy eating patterns increase the risk of becoming overweight or obese. It also increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer and diabetes. But how do you encourage young people to eat more fruit and vegetables? Based on research by the Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment Research Group among preparatory secondary vocational education and senior secondary vocational education pupils, the young people themselves will come up with solutions in the Food Boost Challenge.

The SportLab is a practical environment (‘field lab’) at the Zuiderpark Sports Campus. At the SportLab, researchers are working on innovations and research to help people exercise more and better and to improve sports performances. 

People with vitality who – literally and figuratively – feel comfortable in their own skin use less healthcare. Increasing vitality by eating healthily and getting enough exercise has a positive effect on people and the healthcare system. In Medical Delta Living Lab VIT for life, the Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment Research Group and its partners are researching how technology can support improving vitality.

How can The Hague University of Applied Sciences become a healthy university and help its students and staff members at school and at work to lead and/or maintain a healthy lifestyle? Several research groups, degree programmes and service departments are working together in the project Healthy@HHS to answer that question. The research will lead to innovative projects and programmes that will help to improve the health of students and staff members. 

An increasing number of children at primary schools have a physical and/or sensory impairment, behavioural issues, are overweight or have a motor skill delay. There is much more diversity in the gym and it is essential that teachers and children can recognise and understand individual differences. The Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment Research Group researches possibilities to support (subject) teachers in inclusive physical education. The project is called ‘Disentangling Inclusion in Primary Physical Education’ (DIPPE). This is an international project in which eight European countries participate.

Start (V)aardig is a study on the physical literacy of preschoolers. After all, children who learn to exercise well at an early age and enjoy it, often develop an active lifestyle. Neighbourhood sport coaches can play a significant role in efficiently and effectively encouraging the motor skills of preschoolers. Yet they could use some additional knowledge to work with this target group. The Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment Research Group is developing a toolbox in collaboration with 10 organisations from the sport and exercise sector.

You should expect a PE teacher to be skilled at observing the exercise activities of pupils. This perceptual competence is important to help effectively pupils and provide a reliable assessment. Lecturers and teachers of Physical Education (PE) question whether the perceptual competence is adequate in practice and how this can be deliberately practised. The Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment research group is conducting research to answer these questions.

The Sport and Exercise professor platform connects professors so they can exchange knowledge and collaborate. This leads to the efficient and effective development and use of knowledge. The collaboration also increases the quality and applicability of the sport research. Professors from all sport universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands form the core of the platform. Together, they want to increase the social impact of sport management research.

Modern technology enables children to exercise more, improve their motor skills and teach them at the same time. Since 2018, the Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment Research Group has been working with Springlab, a business focused on physical education. They developed an exercise floor with various educational games for children. The research group studies the best way to use the exercise floor and how to further develop this tool.

Healthy by Design is a project for senior secondary vocational education students to let them work on their lifestyle. There are many good initiatives for healthier living, but senior secondary vocational education students are rarely involved in them. Together with a number of partners, the Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment research group has developed and evaluated a lifestyle intervention for and by senior secondary vocational education (MBO) students.

Vitality and health from young to old is an important theme for the Delta region of Leiden, The Hague and Rotterdam. The aging population and increased burden on care are a cause for concern. The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Leiden and Inholland University of Applied Sciences are working together to share knowledge and skills in the research programme ‘Vitale Delta’. They want to undertake steps to strengthen people’s resilience and ownership and create a healthy environment for residents in the region.