Project to promote Physical Activity, Health and Quality of Life, was presented by the municipality and the Tempo Livre
Municipal Plan for the Promotion of Physical Activity, Health and Quality of Life in Guimarães. That is how this new project is designed to define a global and integrated strategy to increase the number of physical activity practitioners in the municipality. This Friday, April 6, the first meeting of the Advisory Council took place, chaired by Pedro Sarmento Lopes, professor at the Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto. “It is not usual to find an organization with all this involvement. What is happening is something completely new. We are not used to working sport with health, universities, municipalities and business parks. What is happening is something totally new ”, underlined Pedro Sarmento Lopes, at the end of the meeting that took place at Multiusos de Guimarães.
In this first meeting, some diagnostic data on the local reality were addressed, considering the warnings and warnings pointed out by the most recent studies and reports from the World Health Organization and the European Union (Eurobarometer 472), and in line with the European Union Guidelines for the Physical Activity, National Sports for All Program, National Physical Activity Plan and National Strategy for the Promotion of Physical Activity, Health and Well-being.
The strategy will involve the efforts of different entities that, on the joint initiative of the Guimarães City Council and the Tempo Livre will be added to this Municipal Plan, namely the ARS Norte / General Directorate of Health, Universidade do Minho, parish councils, sports associations, private entities and IPSS, educational establishments and health units.
Through a project to be implemented by the Sport Study Center of Guimarães, “it will be possible to understand how everything is combined and interconnected in order to use the data collection that is already being carried out in a competent way”, explained the councilman of Sport Guimarães City Hall. “Most people say that physical activity has increased in Portugal in recent years, but it is a simple perception. The reality of the numbers of the existing studies shows the opposite. It is important to understand why it happens and what needs to be done, not only at the sporting level, but also in education, at the social and even business level. It is important to know how companies can contribute to the increase in physical activity in Portugal ”, said Ricardo Costa.
The Municipal Plan for the Promotion of Physical Activity intends to increase the rates of regular physical activity and sports practice, generalize sports practice at school age, boost sport as a tool for social inclusion, reduce differences in terms of sports practice between men and women, increase the health, well-being and quality of life of citizens. A monitoring strategy will be defined through diagnosis, planning, management and monitoring, defined for the 2018-2025 cycle.
The Advisory Council is represented by the Guimarães City Council, Tempo Livre, University of Minho, General Directorate of Health, Medical Sports Center of Guimarães, Health Centers of Alto Ave, High Performance Support Units at School, Institute of Higher Studies in Fafe, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu / Escola Superior de Esporte, Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth and District Coordination of School Sports.
