At a joint press conference of the Ministers of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth, Mr. Michael Hadjipandela, announced yesterday, Wednesday, the launch of the National Programme for the Assessment of Physical Fitness of the Secondary School Population "Aristotle", which will be implemented with the scientific support of Frederick University.
This is a programme for measuring physical abilities and physical composition indicators, as well as recording dietary habits and physical activity levels of the student population of secondary schools, high schools and Technical and Vocational Education and Training Schools (TVET).
The main objective of the Project is the creation of a database on the physical condition of students in order to enable the monitoring of their health over time, the comparison of Cyprus' data with frameworks proposed by the World Health Organization, as well as the scientific and research utilization of the data. The measurements will be applied once a year, by Physical Education Teachers in Physical Education classes, using a methodology defined by experts.
In parallel with the project, an electronic platform is being developed in which the data will be entered. The students who will have access to it will be able to monitor the evolution of their indicators over time and receive advice on how to improve their health.
The scientific support of the programme has been provided, following an open, European bidding process, by Frederick University, with Dr. Charalambos Tsorbatzoudis, President of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in charge of the scientific support.
The scientific support of the programme has been provided, following an open, European bidding process, by Frederick University, with Dr. Charalambos Tsorbatzoudis, President of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
The President of the Frederick University Council, Mrs. Natassa Frederick in her welcome address, after expressing the pride of the University for undertaking such an important project for the Cypriot society, noted that "the Aristotle Programme is part of Frederick University's multifaceted work to achieve the goals of Sustainable Development and a better future for all".
For his part, the Scientific Manager of the Programme, Dr. Charalambos Tsorbatzoudis, referred to the importance of the Programme for the health of Cypriot citizens, as well as to the interdisciplinary approach that will be applied to the Programme, as scientists from Physical Education and Sport will cooperate with scientists from Computer Science, Statistics, Nutrition and more.
The Ministers of Education and Health referred to the huge problem of childhood obesity, which has reached epidemic proportions in Cyprus, as well as to the prevention and treatment measures taken in the school environment through joint programmes of the two Ministries.
The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth stressed that childhood obesity is now placed at the centre of the Government's general social policy. "Because healthy living habits, a healthy lifestyle, means a better quality of life." In addition, Prodromou stressed that efforts to prevent and address childhood obesity should be based on scientific evidence and our actions should be targeted to the needs of each school unit and each student individually, in order to be effective. "We believe that the Aristotle programme is a step towards achieving this goal", the Education Minister added.
The Health Minister, in his turn, referred to the very worrying levels of childhood obesity in Cyprus, which, he said, according to the Cyprus Health Profile for 2021, published by the European Health Observatory in collaboration with the World Health Organization, is the most important public health problem for Cyprus in childhood. "Also," Hajipantelas continued, "the most recent results provided by the World Health Organization regarding the analysis of the latest measurements for 2020, shoots up the levels of childhood obesity in children 6-9 years old in Cyprus to 43.6% with overweight at 14%. The figures sound the alarm as they are rising and reaching epidemic levels." Finally, the Health Minister announced the development of an online game for young children, through which children are encouraged to eat 5 fruits and vegetables daily.
IP
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