Press release

The multidisciplinary research project YEAH! (Youth hEAlth from a Holistic perspective), coordinated by Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), was officially launched on January 16, 2025, in Brussels. Funded under the Health Cluster of Pillar 2 of the highly competitive Horizon Europe program, the project has been awarded €10 million for a duration of five years. Its objective is to study the health and physical activity of young children and adolescents.

The YEAH! project aims to develop an innovative, personalized program to enhance the health of children (8–10 years old) and adolescents (14–16 years old) by targeting key behaviors such as physical activity, screen time, diet, and sleep. To achieve this, YEAH! will train their social environment (parents, teachers, etc.) to adopt interaction styles that promote healthy behaviors among children and adolescents, using digital solutions. The program is grounded in scientific knowledge and is co-developed with end-users and stakeholders to ensure it meets the needs of children and adolescents as effectively as possible.

The program will be implemented in three phases:

• • Phase 1 & 2 (Years 1 & 2): The development of the behavioral intervention, including the technical creation of a mobile application that will serve as a key tool for training both children/adolescents and their social environment.

• • Phase 3 (Year 3): Implementation of the intervention in seven countries, reaching over 2,688 children and adolescents (approximately 400 per country) across eight schools, ensuring a socio-economically diverse target group.

“YEAH! is a fantastic opportunity to design and implement an intervention from start to finish and test it on a large scale. Our ultimate goal is a global rollout, engaging as many schools as possible to create a ripple effect,” says Aïna Chalabaev, UGA Professor, project coordinator within the SENS laboratory in behavioral sciences, focusing on the promotion of physical activity and healthy behaviors.

A Highly Competitive Program Led by UGA, Bringing Together 16 European Partners

Out of 119 project proposals submitted under the Health Cluster of Horizon Europe’s Pillar 2, only three projects were selected for funding.

Coordinated by Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), the YEAH! project involves 16 European partners from France, Romania, Denmark, Spain, Greece, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Finland, and the Netherlands:

1. Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) as Coordinator
2. Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB) 
3. Universitatea Babes Bolyai (UBB)
4. Syddansk Universitet (SDU)
5. Fundacion Privada Instituto De Salud Global Barcelona (ISGLOBAL)
6. Panepistimio Thessalias (UTH)
7. The Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU)
8. Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Clermont-Ferrand (CHU CF)
9. Ruprecht-Karls-Universitaet Heidelberg (UHEI)
10. Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
11. Jyvaskylan Yliopisto (JYU)
12. Association Fleurbaix Laventie Ville Santé (FLVS)
13. École Normale Supérieure de Rennes (ENS Rennes)
14. Stichting Universitaire en Algemene Kinder – en Jeugdpsychiatrie Noord-Nederland (ACCARE)
15. Fundacio Institut d’Investigacio Sanitaria Pere Virgili (IISPV)
16. Université Rennes II (RENNES 2)