Fundación Occident and Gasol Foundation join forces to promote child health

"The entity belonging to GCO has been recognised as a "universal ally" in its contribution to promoting healthier and more active children Both foundations presented their alliance at an event held on Wednesday, 13 November. "

Fundación Occident has established a collaboration agreement with the Gasol Foundation aimed at jointly preventing childhood obesity and promoting healthy habits among the youngest in the population. As part of this arrangement, today, on 13 November, both organisations have signed an agreement at the headquarters of the Gasol brothers' foundation in Sant Boi de Llobregat. This event was attended by Laura Halpern, President of Fundación Occident, and Cristina Ribes, Global Executive Director of the Gasol Foundation. 

As a universal ally of the Gasol Foundation, Fundación Occident has also become a main contributor to the PASOS Study, a landmark report that assesses the lifestyles and health of children, adolescents and their families in Spain. The foundation part of the GCO has now become a participant in a national benchmark study, which is employed as an assessment mechanism for the National Strategic Plan to Reduce Childhood Obesity, led by the Government of Spain. The findings of the latest edition of the study were published last July, which showed that the socioeconomic status of families is one of the defining factors of the lifestyles of children and adolescents.

According to Laura Halpern, President of Fundación Occident, “This alliance with the Gasol Foundation is a step forward for us, as it is a leading institution in the field of child nutrition and health. By means of this strategic agreement, we seek to promote healthy lifestyles and make our society aware of the harmful effects of childhood obesity.” 

Cristina Ribes, Global Executive Director of the Gasol Foundation, said that “it is an honour to have Fundación Occident as our universal ally, since it is an entity that, through its projects and collaborations, generates a significant positive impact and contributes to the search for solutions to problems that concern the population, in terms of health research and education, culture and sport.”

Within the framework of this collaboration, Dr Santi F. Gómez, Global Director of Research and Programmes of the Gasol Foundation, will participate in the session “Preventing obesity: is it possible?” on 20 November. This event has been organised by Fundación Occident as part of the 6th edition of the Fundación Jesús Serra Research Awards ceremony.

Fundación Occident, committed to healthy eating habits

Fundación Occident is renowned for its Fundación Jesús Serra Research Awards in the fields of nutrition and diet. These awards were created over six years ago with the aim of acknowledging the path of excellence and outstanding contributions to research in the fields of nutrition, diet and health of young scientists working in Spain in areas such as basic, clinical, epidemiological and technological research. 

Since its launch, most of the award-winning researchers have contributed to the treatment or cure of various diseases and pathologies related to nutrition and diet, such as diabetes. In 2024 Andreea Ciudin and María Mittelbrunn received the award for their research on the assessment of the key factors of obesity using artificial intelligence and on how to rejuvenate the immune system and delay the onset of age-related diseases, respectively.