How we work
Creating healthier futures starts with making healthy food and opportunities for physical activity more accessible in the places where daily life happens: schools, community spaces and public spaces.
We act early, working alongside communities with a focus on the places where needs are greatest. Through our global network of cities and partners, we connect local action with shared learning, helping cities learn from one another and scale what works.
Our principles
Early evidence-based intervention
We use evidence to guide action, focusing on children and families because the habits formed in childhood help shape lifelong health.
Locally tailored action
We begin by listening, working with communities to understand local priorities and co-create solutions that build on local strengths and knowledge.
Cross-sector collaboration
We bring diverse stakeholders together, recognising that changing environments and behaviours require coordinated action across sectors.
Equity at the centre
We prioritise the communities facing the greatest barriers to healthy food and physical activity, helping ensure that action reaches those who need it most.
Our focus areas
What we eat and how much we move shape our health for a lifetime.
That’s where we focus.
Today, one in five children globally is affected by overweight or obesity – a challenge rooted in the everyday environments where they live, learn and play.1
Healthy food, physical activity and strong community connections all help us thrive.
Our focus settings
Schools
Children spend a significant amount of time in schools, making them a key setting for supporting healthy habits from an early age.
Community spaces
Community spaces bring people together around shared activities, creating opportunities to connect and support one another as healthier routines are built.
Public spaces
Public spaces shape everyday opportunities to access healthy food and be physically active, while providing places for people of all ages to connect.
Our global network
We measure what works in practice and scale learning across the global network so that successful approaches can adapt and grow from one city to another.
Interventions piloted in one city can be evaluated, shared across the network and adapted to new contexts – so cities don’t start from scratch.
- World Health Organization (WHO). Obesity and overweight. WHO. Updated 8 December 2025. Accessed 22 May, 2026. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
