News item | 14-10-2022 | 17:00
Over the next three years, the cabinet will allocate an extra 300 million euros for research into tackling three common diseases: dementia, obesity and cancer. Ministers Kuipers and Helder and State Secretary Van Ooijen of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport have informed the House of this. The money will be used to tackle the three diseases, but also to promote lifestyle and living environment. After all, many of these diseases are related to a healthy lifestyle and living environment. The government will use the money to reduce the chance of contracting these diseases or the chance of a serious disease course.
Many Dutch people will have to deal with obesity, cancer or dementia in their lives and this is expected to increase in the coming years. All these diseases have a major impact on people’s health and their environment. That is why, in addition to proper treatment of these common diseases, it is especially important to prevent them.
Health is influenced by many factors. There are personal factors such as overweight, lifestyle factors such as smoking and drinking, and living conditions such as the air quality in a place of residence. These factors also recur when looking at risk factors for cancer, obesity and dementia.
Much is already being done in the field of obesity, dementia and cancer. There is the National Prevention Agreement, the National Dementia Strategy, there are population screenings into various forms of cancer and drug research. The 300 million euros for the research comes on top of the efforts that have already been made.
Lifestyle Coalition
Over the next three years, the use of the money will focus on embedding lifestyle as a treatment in or from curative care. All parts of the care must be used for this. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport therefore supports the establishment of a lifestyle coalition. This will focus, among other things, on a national knowledge structure, setting up a large research program and embedding lifestyle as part of the training of healthcare professionals.