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1. National strategy(ies)

2. Encouraging healthy lifestyles and healthy nutrition for young people

3. Health education and healthy lifestyles education in schools

4. Peer-to-peer education approaches

5. Collaboration and partnerships

6. Raising awareness on healthy lifestyles and on factors affecting the health and well-being of young people

National strategy(ies)

The current Swedish governing document for healthy lifestyles and healthy nutrition policy is the government’s bill 'A renewed public health policy' (En förnyad folkhälsopolitik). Key parts of the bill were decided by the parliament in 2009. 

Specific target groups in the bill are children, young people and parents. Particular focus is on strengthening and supporting parents in their parenting, in order to intensify suicide prevention, promote good eating habits and physical activity and reduce the use of tobacco.

In order to achieve the overall public health objective – creating social conditions for a good health on equal terms for the entire population ­– the government has identified that a long-term and cross-sectoral approach is needed in all sectors that affect the development of the public health. To facilitate this work, a combined target structure with eleven target domains has been developed. One of the target domains is eating habits and food.

According to the Public Health Agency, unhealthy eating habits are one of the biggest risk factors for ill-health and premature death in Sweden. The eating habits among adults in Sweden have improved in many ways since 1990s, but the intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and vegetable oils, as well as seafood, is still too low. At the same time, intake of sweet drinks, pastries, fat dairy and salt is too high, as well as consumption of red meat. The daily physical activity level is also low and has remained unchanged in the last decade.

On behalf of the government, the Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten) and the Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) have drawn up proposals for national targets, indicators and relevant areas of action for sustainable and healthy food consumption. The assignment was reported to the government at the beginning of 2024. The proposal is now with the government, which decides whether the goals and sub-goals should be adopted, as well as the possible follow-up of the goals.

The goals that the authorities propose for the year 2035 are:

• Food consumption has contributed to better and more equal health
• The negative impact of food consumption on climate, biodiversity and ecosystems has decreased and the positive impact on biodiversity and ecosystems has increased. In order to achieve the proposed goals, food consumption needs to change.

The government has also given the Public Health Agency and the Swedish Food Agency a task to improve children's and young people's food consumption with a particular focus on socio-economic differences. The assignment will be finalized on 31 January 2025.

Responsible authority

The Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhälsomyndigheten) is an expert authority with responsibility for public health issues at a national level. Among other responsibilities, the agency monitors the development of and knowledge on the eating habits of the population, including different factors which can affect this.

The Swedish National Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) is an expert authority with responsibility for the food sector. The agency works towards the following goals: healthy dietary habits, safe foods and fair practices in the food trade. The main tools are regulations, recommendations and communication.

Encouraging healthy lifestyles and healthy nutrition for young people

Public meals

Sweden has a comprehensive and service-oriented welfare system, where all citizens are to have equal opportunities for good and equitable health. Meals served in public institutions such as schools, nursing homes and hospitals are considered an important part of the task.

The safety of all public meals is regulated by European and national food legislation. National nutritional guidelines are developed in Nordic collaboration, and these guidelines set the standards for the nutritional quality of public meals.

School lunches are served in many countries, but the Swedish school meal model is unique in offering free meals to all children between 7 and 16 years of age, and to most students between 16 and 19 years of age, on an everyday basis. The meals are hot and several alternatives are often available. Salad, bread, butter, milk and water are also on the menu.

Since 2011, the Education Act stipulates that school lunches must be nutritious, thus equal a third of the recommended daily intake of energy and nutrients. In November 2011, the National Food Agency was commissioned to work in cooperation with the Swedish National Agency for Education, supporting work with nutritious school meals. One element of this work involved revising the guidelines Good school meals (Bra måltider i skolan). These guidelines are intended to provide support for efforts to produce good school meals.

Health education and healthy lifestyles education in schools

Health education in upper secondary education

In Sweden, health education is included in the subject of physical education and health. At upper secondary level, as described in section 7.3, Sport, youth fitness and physical activity, the subject is mandatory both for vocational and academic study programmes.

Physical education and health

The subject of physical education and health aims at helping students at upper secondary level to develop their physical ability, and the ability to plan, carry out and assess a variety of physical activities that promote all-round physical capacity. Teaching should also lead to students developing knowledge of how their own bodies function, and the importance of lifestyle and the consequences of physical activity and inactivity.

In addition, teaching should also help students to develop their health and environmental awareness, and gain general interest in health issues.

Teaching should raise awareness and challenge stereotypes of what is considered to be masculine and feminine, and inform about the consequences of different body ideals. It should also give students opportunities to develop knowledge of the importance of physical activities and nature experiences for physical ability and health.

Health

The subject of health is a programme specific subject for Child and recreation programme and Health and social care programme, both being vocational programmes at upper secondary level. The subject covers health and health promotion from individual, group and societal perspectives. The subject is based on a holistic view of people as biological, psychological and social beings.

Teaching should aim at helping students to develop knowledge of people's health, and of different kinds of health promotion measures. Students should be given opportunities to develop knowledge about public health goals and the content of public health work. Teaching should help students to develop their abilities to work in a health promoting way using a salutogenic approach, thus reinforcing what is healthy and seeing people as a resource for their own well-being. 

Sex education

In Sweden, sex education, or sexuality, consent and relationships which is the current subject name, became mandatory as early as in 1955. Terms such as sexuality, relationships, gender, gender equality and norms have been included since 2011 in several of the course and subject syllabuses for compulsory and upper secondary school and adult education. This means that the responsibility for this subject falls on several teachers, and that it will be brought up within the scope of multiple courses and subjects (Skolverket).

The major part of sex education is conducted in years five, eight and nine of compulsory school. In year five, when the pupils are 11 years old, topics like puberty, body development and masturbation are covered. In year eight, at the age of 14, many schools focus on topics like bodily functions and STIs. In year nine, the focus is often on relationships.

The upper secondary school's subject syllabus sets out a central content for sex and relationships teaching. The subject has been integrated primarily in other subjects such as history, physical education and health, natural science, social sciences and religion. 

Sex education in Sweden conveys facts about sexual and reproductive health such as anatomy, sexual functions, sexual orientations, STIs, HIV/AIDS, abortion and contraceptives. Moreover, the possibility to discuss, reflect and work on attitudes, norms and values regarding for example the use of condoms, gender, harassments and expressing love is also an important part of sex and relationships education. Here, different methods such as value clarification games and group talks are used.

Curriculum writings on sexuality, consent and relationships were strengthened in 2021. The changes meant, among other things, that the teaching in this area of ​​knowledge should take place repeatedly and contribute to a greater degree to promoting students' health and well-being and strengthening their ability to make conscious and independent choices.

New writings were also introduced on counteracting honour-related violence and oppression. In addition, there are now reinforced writings on gender equality for all forms of school which, among other things, should contribute to countering restrictive gender patterns and promote equal rights and opportunities for women and men. The schools have applied the changes from autumn 2022.

Pedagogical tools

The National Agency for Education (Skolverket) offers both pedagogical tools and support to teachers responsible for sex and relationships education. All tools – films and other support materials – are free for downloading for teachers. The films, together with related discussion questions, are meant to provide a basis for discussion in the work team or the subject group, on how gender equality, sex patterns, sexuality and relationships can be integrated into teaching.

Today, there are films aimed at teachers in natural science, physical education and health, religion, social sciences, history, biology, art, English, Swedish and music. 

Peer-to-peer education approaches

Sex education

Local associations of RFSU (the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education, see Collaboration and partnerships below for more information) offer specialised school informers. School informers work with information about sexuality issues, based on a positive sexual opinion. RFSU informers meet learners between 13 and 20 years of age, for discussions about feelings, sexuality and the body, consent, norms and rights. The school informers are between 20 and 30 years of age, and have received informant training.

Collaboration and partnerships

Physical education

At present, there is no clear support or legal framework in Sweden when it comes to collaboration between authorities, schools, health professionals and youth workers for promoting physical activity among young people. There are though nation-wide initiatives that are mainly ben financed by the government, such as the School Sports Association (Skolidrottsförbundet)

The School Sports Association is the national organization for all of the country's school sports associations. The business is about offering children and young people opportunities to play sports on their own terms in connection with the school day, in the form of afternoon activities and recurring competitions where everyone can participate.

The School Sports Association is a so-called multi-sport association and is not limited to any particular sport but accommodates many different physical activities.
The School Sports Association's goal is to collaborate with organizations, municipalities and authorities in an effort to offer more children fun community and joy of movement without high costs.

Sex education

RFSU (the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education) is the leading organisation in Sweden in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). RFSU works locally (e.g. with information provision in schools), nationally (e.g. by influencing policies) and internationally (e.g. in the form of development projects in Africa). RFSU sees openness on sexuality as the point of entry of health promotion and STIs and HIV/AIDS prevention. 

Raising awareness on healthy lifestyles and on factors affecting the health and well-being of young people

The Leisure card

The government has initiated the Leisure card with the aim of promoting the physical and mental health of children and young people between the ages of 8 and 16 through increased access to sports, culture, outdoor activities and other social activities. That children and young people experience their free time as meaningful affects their mental and physical well-being. Feeling good and having the opportunity to do fun things affects health in a positive way. Activities through sports, outdoor activities, culture and other hobbies can, among other things, strengthen social participation, perceived security, opportunities to develop an interest and increased opportunities for physical activity.

The leisure card will be launched in the latter part of 2025 and can be used as payment for leisure activities. A number of government agencies are tasked with working with the leisure card, the Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten), the Swedish eHealth Agency , the Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan), the Agency for Youth and Civil Society Issues (MUCF) and the Swedish Arts Council (Kulturrådet). Cooperation also takes place with the National Sports Confederation (Riksidrottsförbundet), Swedish Associations of Outdoor Organizations (Svenskt Friluftsliv) and Sweden's municipalities and regions (Sveriges kommuner och regioner).