Agrupamento de Escolas João de Deus is composed by three schools of elementary education, a school of the 2nd and 3rd cycles of education and a secondary education school. These schools arelocated in Faro and in its surroundings. The school has 2071 students and 202 teachers. The building of the secondary school dates back to 1948 and it has undergone a renovation. The Algarve, where the school is located, is a problematic area where school success is not valued once unskilled seasonal work is available. However, this school is offering vocational courses, which can meet the community’s needs. In 2000, the school was considered by the Ministry of Education as a school of

reference with the aim of education for the media, because of the quality of teaching it offers to students and of the service it provides to the community. The grouping is also a reference in the Algarve for the deaf students, who range from the pre-school to the 12th grade.

In our school our teachers have a large experience in dealing with these problems. They have already attended training courses that give them the expertise to fight against eating disorders. Furthermore, they are also certificated in ICT. It also counts with the support of the cabinet of psychology, of teachers of foreign languages (English, French and Spanish), Biology and ICT.

In this school the European Projects have always been seen as a dimension of participation and structural innovation.

For us the participation in European projects also means the promotion of our reality, the Portuguese, and the knowledge of other European schools and cultures. It may contribute to know, participate, improve and develop skills and to take advantage of what the information society has to offer. The school aims at giving a new route to our society, in an intelligent, sustainable and inclusive way, meting the objectives of the European Union: Europe 2020. Thus, sharing our knowledge with our partners’ will contribute to a sustainable development and to the success of our students. The school has got about 2000 children/teenagers who are now going through great biological and psychosocial

changes, which involve an intense growth and development. This phase is also characterized by an increase of the need of energy and nutrients to provide a correct growth. A healthy eating and nutritional behaviour is fundamental to the balanced growth of our students, that’s why we consider that the development of projects and the definition of strategies are fundamental to promote healthy habits in a preventive way. In a globalised society where image is given so much importance, for some of them fitting in may be difficult just because they are obese. Therefore, eating disorders are common and difficult to combat.

We have already participated in a European Project, “Mediterranean Diet”, whose aim was to promote a healthy diet, which can be considered as an asset for the development of this project