Sport for Health: Bringing sport into people’s lives

The Royal Society for Public Health and the Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund have launched a new two day course for sports leaders who would like to extend their experience and improve the health of their community.  The courses have been designed specifically for people who work or volunteer in sport.  

Sport for Health equips people with the skills to increase the level of physical activity of those who do not normally take part in sport and physical activity.

Participants will learn how an active lifestyle promotes good health and why behaviour change is so difficult for some people. They will also gain the practical skills to help people overcome these barriers and take part in physical activity.

Londoners may be eligible for up to 75% off the cost of the training in exchange for volunteer hours thanks to the Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund, which is managed by the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure. This £3 million fund provides subsidised training to increase the number of Londoners working and volunteering in the sports sector, and up-skill those already involved, leading up to the 2012 Games.

Professor Richard Parish, Chief Executive of RSPH, comments “Sports leaders will gain a clear understanding of the key factors affecting health and well being, and the ability to communicate the benefits of sport and physical activity to others. They will have a better understanding of why many people are unwilling to get involved, and come away with practical ways to encourage a change in behaviour.”

National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure CEO Florence Orban says: “A key goal of the Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund is to remove barriers and engage Londoners who haven’t traditionally been involved in sport and active leisure, and the Sport for Health course clearly delivers on this. We are pleased to support this programme and encourage all eligible Londoners to apply for funding and help create a sporting legacy for 2012.”

The full price for each one day course is just £200 per participant and includes lunch, refreshments and full course materials.  The Mayor’s Sports Legacy fund will consider applications from people who commit to volunteering their skills with London communities.

To find out more about this course, available funding and other programmes offered by RSPH, please click here, call Nicolette Boustaoui on 020 3177 1625 or email sportforhealth@rsph.org.uk.   

Make Friday Fruity

Fruity Friday, is a fundraising campaign launched by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK) to increase public awareness of the links between diet, nutrition and cancer prevention.  The annual event also aims to raise valuable funds for cancer research and education programmes of cancer prevention. 

Fruity Friday coincides with WCRF UK’s annual Cancer Prevention Week which is being held between 9^th and 15^th of May 2011.  The purpose of Cancer Prevention Week is to promote the message that cancer is a largely preventable disease.  It has been shown that around a third of the most common cancers could be prevented if people adopted healthy lifestyle choices, including eating healthily, being more physically active and maintaining a healthy weight. 

The Cancer Stats – Worldwide and UK

Data reports from Cancer Research UK shows that globally, an estimated 12.7 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2008.

An estimated 4.2 million men died from cancer worldwide in 2008. Lung cancer is by far the biggest killer, accounting for almost one in four (23%) cancer deaths in men.

Liver and stomach cancers are also big cancer killers in men worldwide (11% each).

Similarly around 3.3 million women died from cancer worldwide in 2008. Breast and lung cancers are the most common killers, accounting for 14% and 13% of deaths, respectively.

Evidence from the Latest UK Cancer Incidence Year and Mortality Year Summary shows that in the UK, 309,527 cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2008.  Of these cancer cases 155,326 were men and 154,201 were women.  In 2008 there were 156,594 cancer deaths, of which 81,403 were men and 74,829 were women.  The UK incidence rate is slightly higher than the average in the more developed regions of the world, and more than 75% higher than the average in the less developed regions.

Recommendations

Overall, scientists have estimated that about third (39%) of the 12 most common types of cancer cases in the UK could be prevented if people made healthier lifestyle choices. 

The evidence comes from WCRF The Expert Report which was published in 2007, having taken six years to produce, it is renowned as the most comprehensive report ever produced on the link between lifestyle and cancer risk.  The research outlined in the report was the basis used to develop the 10 recommendations for cancer prevention that people can incorporate into their daily lives.

Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and pulses is one way to help prevent cancer.  Scientific research shows that these types of food may protect against cancer because they contain vitamins and minerals which help keep the body healthy and strengthen our immune system.  They are also good sources of substances like phytochemicals which are biologically active compounds that can help to protect cells in the body from damage that can lead to cancer. 

Further recommendations also include being physically active for at least thirty minutes a day, limiting alcohol consumption and avoiding smoking.  For a full list of the recommendations to help prevent cancer please click here. 

RSPH and Health Promotion – What You Can Do?

At RSPH Training Solutions we take health seriously and we believe that through education and training, people can learn to make better lifestyle choices and positively influence people around them.  We are currently running a 5 day Level 2 Award in Health Promotion programme, which has specifically been developed to meet the increasing needs of a wide range of individuals to acquire fundamental knowledge and skills in health promotion.  The Award provides candidates with an opportunity to work and train within a multi-disciplinary group, exploring and examining basic theory in relation to the concepts, influences and determinants of health.  For further information please contact Nicolette Boustaoui or by phone on: 0203 177 1625.