The main strategic lines of action of the NAOS Strategy cover the entire life course, prioritising measures aimed at children and adolescents and placing emphasis on the needs of the most vulnerable socioeconomic groups. These lines of action are the following:

HEALTH PROTECTION

The NAOS Strategy develops specific actions and interventions with a common focus for the most effective evidence-based health protection, facilitating access to a varied, balanced diet with greater moderation in terms of calorie intake and fat, sugar and salt content, promoting food reformulation and providing the best information to assist consumers in making healthier decisions and choices, contributing to the creation of settings for more active lifestyles, and reducing the pressure of the marketing of food to minors through the PAOS Code, a self-regulation code for advertising.

PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION

All European and global health policies have established recommendations and statements urging countries to undertake prevention activities as a cornerstone of the global response to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) for people of all ages. For that reason, the NAOS Strategy establishes specific, comprehensive, multisectoral actions and lines of action that contribute to reducing the exposure of people and populations to modifiable risk factors (inadequate diet and physical inactivity) and their basic determinants. Partnerships and common efforts are always sought, thereby strengthening health and monitoring systems, improving prevention and control and reducing the burden of related non-communicable diseases.

Actions for the prevention of obesity and related diseases include activities to raise awareness among different population groups about a healthy, varied diet and physical activity. The objective is to establish simple, appropriate, educational communication and information strategies to facilitate lifestyle change and to transmit certain knowledge in order that consumers may be more demanding about health and make better decisions regarding their dietary habits and physical activity. Information on some of the awareness-raising activities is available in the Educa NAOS, Campaigns and Publications sections.

Other activities to inform and improve visibility include the NAOS Convention, an annual conference for the presentation of new information and for debate with the participation of renowned experts; and the NAOS Strategy Awards, whose purpose is to recognise and bring visibility to those actions or programmes making a contribution to the prevention of obesity through the promotion of healthy diet and regular physical exercise, within the framework of the NAOS Strategy.

Multisectoral collaborative actions are run through coordination and cooperation between different levels of government (regional and local), with the objective of implementing effective programmes at different levels and a strong focus on the citizen and supporting the role of local and regional government.

In addition to this, public intervention and good practice programmes have been developed. One example is the Fifty-fifty Programme, led by Dr Valentín Fuster, which aims to improve overall health in adults through modifying health habits using peer education.

MONITORING, OBSERVATION AND ASSESSMENT

The NAOS Strategy has an Observatory of Nutrition and of the Study of Obesity, an observation and monitoring system intended to monitor the prevalence and determinants of obesity and overweight in the Spanish population and to assess the effectiveness of actions carried out in this area.

The Observatory was formally created by an Agreement of the Council of Ministers during the development of Article 38 of Law 17/2011, on Food Safety and Nutrition, and was set up as a system to provide information on the nutritional status and the trend in obesity in the Spanish population and as a meeting place for all actors involved with the objectives of the NAOS Strategy (the promotion of healthy diet and physical activity).

The Observatory is a collegiate body working under the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality. The Observatory, whose president is Dr Valentín Fuster, is made up of spokespersons representing the main actors in this field: national, regional and local government, scientific associations, professional associations, consumer groups, the food and drinks industry and the catering and distribution sectors.

There is a section of the website dedicated to the Observatory of Nutrition and of the Study of Obesity, which contains a substantial amount of data and data sources, studies, programmes, key documents, etc. from the international, national and regional settings.