|
Skipping for Health 2 October 2006 The Public Health Directorate of DHSS continues to promote the benefits of skipping for health improvement to children, teaching staff, parents and carers in the Isle of Man. Following the success of previous visits to train lunchtime supervisors, ‘Skipping Workshops’ have been invited to the Isle of Man once again to work with school children and teachers to promote simple, enjoyable physical activity to promote more activity to help prevent obesity. Jo Richardson, Headteacher – Anagh Coar School says "Skipping is a fun activity which is accessible to children of all ages often offering those who are not into traditional sports a good way of keeping fit. There are additional benefits as it only requires very basic equipment and can be done almost anywhere!" Lee James, Skipping Coach, says “Skipping Workshops promote skipping as a fun creative activity that can improve the culture of the playground, enliven PE lessons and improve the fitness of all children”. It is recognised that activity levels can drop off in the adolescent/teenage years, especially amongst girls. A workshop will be held at QEII School with 12-13 year old students. In addition to the workshops, a new website will be launched by DHSS at the end of September (www.skipping.gov.im) which will record children’s achievements in the Manx Skipping Challenge and will encourage skipping competition between the Island’s schools. The challenge is open to all school age children living in the Isle of Man, male and female, the fun skippers and the sports training skippers, with individual and group categories. The Public Health Promotion team would like to thank Skimmee Gien Mie, Isle of Man Anti Cancer and Active in Mann for their continued support with this project. Notes: - www.skipping.gov.im will go live on 29 September 2006
- The Manx Skipping Challenge objectives are to motivate and inspire children who have developed an interest in skipping and wish to improve their skills. The challenge is divided into six categories, each with a minimum qualifying standard (attachment A). Any child reaching the qualifying standard can submit their name, and a list of the best scores in each category will be regularly updated on the website. We hope this will encourage children to raise their own standards and strive to improve further.
- Skipping is an ideal activity:
- Skipping helps with coordination, cooperation, concentration and communication skills as well as the obvious health benefits related to calorie burning and weight loss.
- It is an excellent form of ‘brain gym’, which is well recognised in educational settings as a way of increasing children’s ability to learn.
- Skipping is a fun way to exercise with friends and improves playground behaviour and social skills. It is a great confidence builder for all pupils as they try and improve their personal tallies for tricks and try new challenges.
- Skipping is athletic, aerobic and gymnastic and has been recommended by the Osteoporosis Society for many years to reduce the risks associated with osteoporosis.
- Physical inactivity is probably the most common risk factor for heart disease in the UK (Scottish Executive). Many people do not take enough regular activity to achieve the health benefits to protect their heart. Research shows that inactive people have a greater risk of heart attacks and strokes than active people. There is a higher risk of becoming overweight or obese and more chance of developing diabetes. Inactivity increases the risk of developing osteoporosis which can lead to fractures.
- Evidence linking inactivity and a variety of cancers has grown over the last decade (Thune and Furberg, 2001). Research suggests that half of all cancers could be prevented by lifestyle changes (Cancer Research UK).
Further information can be found in the PDF's below or by contacting: Michelle Flanagan, Health Promotion Officer, Public Health Directorate on 642668 You will need Adobe Acrobat to download documents that are PDFs, this is available free by following this link: More stories >>>
|
