Who we are

The JUMP18 foundation is a team of young Aruban healthcare professionals and a pediatrician that developed a hands-on initiative to empower children and their parents to improve their health and wellbeing. The philosophy of JUMP18 is to motivate and enable Aruban children and their parents to live sustainable and healthy lifestyles needed to prevent the harmful effects of childhood obesity.

JUMP18 is more than just another healthy lifestyle intervention. The project distinguishes itself as a holistic multidisciplinary health improvement initiative driven by young Aruban healthcare professionals. More importantly, it provides the young Aruban professionals the opportunity to serve their Island and help Aruban children.
In 2021, the Jump18-Aruba Childhood Obesity Prevention Program was launched and officially became the JUMP18 foundation in 2024. Since its inception, the program has been dedicated to providing accessible and effective solutions for children aged 4 to 18 who are overweight or obese.

To date, after five cohorts of 18 children, the program has achieved consistently positive results. Participants have shown significant improvements in overall health, self-esteem, stamina, and weight management. A unique and welcomed benefit has been the indirect positive impact on the families of participating children, fostering healthier habits within households.

Our Aim

JUMP18 aims to help parents and children to live healthier lives by (re)educating and challenging their limiting beliefs. Through this process parents and their children gain access to (re-)discover their true worth and self-appreciation. Gaining access to their intrinsic capabilities enables them to live healthy lifestyles that promote and sustain a healthy weight in children. The term “JUMP18” indicates the project’s focus on healthy behavior and physical activity in children ages between four and eighteen.

Vision

The vision of JUMP18 is to eradicate the incidence of childhood obesity in Aruba and improve the overall wellbeing of Aruban children.

Mission

Our mission is to ensure the healthy well-being of Aruban children by reducing the burden of disease that is associated with childhood obesity. To achieve the desired positive lifestyle changes, the project will focus on the following four pillars:

1. Education

We believe that educating children about healthy (eating) habits and behavior constitutes the building blocks for sustainable positive change. Hence, education is the flagship of this project and also the fundamental principle of the components constituting the JUMP18 initiative.

2. Nutrition

Research on childhood obesity has shown that (healthy) nutrition plays a crucial role in combatting overweight and obesity in children^1,2. Therefore, providing parents and their children with the tools and knowledge to promote healthy eating behavior will contribute to positive outcomes, making nutrition an essential pillar of the JUMP18 project.

3. Physical activity

The WHO recommends that children perform moderate to vigorous physical activity for one hour per day³. However, the literature shows that the majority of Aruban children fail to meet these physical activity recommendations. This makes the promotion of guided physical activity a critical aspect of preventing childhood obesity in Aruba⁴.

4. Research

The JUMP18 project was set up based on the current knowledge and best practices and the latest evidence in the literature regarding effective interventions to prevent childhood obesity. Various parameters will be monitored and measured at different time points during the program. Our findings will be compared to those from previous studies to monitor and benchmark the effectiveness of the intervention.

References

1. https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/100/9/3572/2830512
2. https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-019-4457-7
3. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity
4. https://cbs.aw/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Health-Monitor-2013.pdf