Rome, June 13 2018 - what sport e physical activity, in addition to having a high social and educational value, they are important tools for the well-being, prevention and therapy of many pathologies; following a correct lifestyle is the best way to preserve our most precious asset, health. This is the theme of the round table "Sport and Sustainability" organized tomorrow by ConfAssociations Environment, in collaboration with the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA), at the Chamber of Deputies and which brought together the leading experts in the sector.
Numerous scientific evidences show that a healthy lifestyle and regular physical activity are valid allies for our well-being. Beyond the 70%[1] of chronic degenerative diseases, such as heart attack, diabetes and stroke, it could be avoided thanks to a proper diet and constant physical exercise so cHow to exercise every day has great benefits for those suffering from stress, depression and anxiety. On the other hand, however, scientific studies highlight how the lifestyle of the population is worsening: data from the World Health Organization show that beyond 7 out of 10 Italians (73,9%) are obese or overweight, the 56,6% do not engage in physical activity and 19,6% have the habit of smoking [2] . Following healthy sports habits, as well as eating, helps not only to reduce the risk of developing many chronic diseases, including oncological ones, but it is also important to counteract the progression of the disease when it has already occurred.
“Our health depends mainly on lifestyles. Many of the diseases are due to incorrect behavior. Poor motor activity, incorrect nutrition, smoking are the main causes of chronic and degenerative diseases that can also lead to premature deaths - he declares Alexander Miani, President of the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine -. "Conversely, healthy habits and physical exercise lengthen life expectancy and positively affect everyone's quality of life".
"Therefore, physical and motor activity should be recommended by the doctor as well as drug therapies or dietary diets are prescribed" - he continues Alexander Miani -. "And on this hope there will be greater sensitivity on the part of politics and institutional bodies in charge of encouraging all public and private structures, sports managers and individual operators who work every day to make sport usable in outdoor and indoor environments, adequate, healthy and functional ".
Practicing sports and adopting healthy lifestyles also has important repercussions terms of savings in economic and social costs borne by the National Health Service.
"A 2017 report from the World Health Organization shows how in Europe sedentary lifestyle costs from 150 to 300 Euro / year for each person", says Daniela Lucini, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the School of Specialization in Sports Medicine and of UNIMI Physical Exercise. "Physical exercise and a correct lifestyle in general fully satisfy the definition of Sustainability: taking actions today to preserve a precious asset such as Health that otherwise may no longer be present tomorrow, also guaranteeing significant economic savings and thus freeing up resources to invest in innovative therapies ".
But sporting activity not only brings benefits to the psychophysical well-being of the person but also has important educational and training values. As a real gym of sight, sports - especially team ones - help kids to create new friends and sharing core values, keeping them away from drugs, delinquency or "wrong" companies, favoringintegration of groups in areas of greater discomfort social.
Finally, sport as "friend of the environment. Where physical activity is practiced in the open air - for example in city parks or within protected areas - one develops environmental awareness and education, more attention to the promotion and protection of the resources of the territory, putting in place attitudes to protect the landscape from pollution and neglect.
“The close relationship that binds sport and sustainability is an essential combination for physical and mental health and the educational growth of man in respect of nature. Parks, sports, wellness are the new expressions of outdoor life to discover and enhance the territory and under the banner of sustainable tourism ”, explains Martina Cambiaghi, Councilor for Sport and Youth of the Lombardy Region. “The comparison that sees institutions, local authorities, sports and environmental associations confronting each other in order to plan actions and policies aimed at encouraging the development of sport in a context of sustainability is invaluable. More and more often in the prescription of our doctor it happens to find alongside the traditional pharmacological treatments a real sports therapy. A correct approach to therapeutic sport can save time on the onset of many diseases and we can speak of an alternative medical approach. Motor activity, be it physical activity, exercise or sport, is a prodigious natural drug that prevents and treats numerous chronic diseases, significantly improving the health and quality of life of citizens. Awareness in this regard continues to grow, also in the sports and health sectors, and the topic is increasingly at the center of attention ”.
"The goal of this important initiative is to raise awareness of the Government, Regions and Municipalities: dedicating more investments to sport means saving public money and improving the quality of life for all", he underlines Alan Christian Rizzi, Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Lombardy Region.
“Confassocissioni Ambiente was born from the desire to create a meeting place in which to systematize the most sensitive consciences and individual initiatives, so that the maximum strength is achieved for collective action for the protection of man and the planet. The hope is that the individual voices can become a choir capable of reaching citizens, but above all the institutions in order to make a change in the name of sustainability ", concludes Antonio Persici, President of ConfAssocamenti Ambiente.
For more information:
Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA)
Via Monte Leone 2, Milan - Via Francesco Gentile 135, Rome
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