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WHO/EU guidelines on daily physical activity
If you are healthy and aged between 18 and 65:
Aim for a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five days a week or at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three days a week. You can do this in bouts of at least ten minutes and alternate between vigorous and less intense exercise.
If you are healthy and over 65:
As before, but prioritise exercises for strength and balance.
School-age children:
An hour or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. This can be in bouts of ten minutes or more and consist of a range of activities (for example, aerobics, weight-bearing exercise, strength training), according to the needs of the age group.
Working together
An initiative to combat child obesity in two small French towns is achieving global success, supported by the EU Platform on Nutrition and Physical Activity.
Epode – a French acronym for Together Let's Prevent Childhood Obesity – started in Fleurbaix and Laventie, not far from Lille. Between 1992 and 2004 they developed a community prevention programme that hired sports educators and built new sporting facilities, organised walk-to-school days, and hired nutritionists to mentor children, families and schools into changing their menus, environments and behaviour.
The proportion of overweight children in the two towns fell from 11.2% in 1992 to 8.8% in 2004, according to a study published last year. Two nearby towns that did not adopt the strategy saw a rise from to 12.6% to 17.8%.
Through the EU platform, the programme, initially local and then national, became a network by joining forces with companies such as Ferrero, Mars, Nestlé and Orangina Schweppes, as well as with four universities and the European Association for the Study of Obesity. In Europe, the network now extends to 275 towns and cities – with 32 in Spain, 13 in Belgium and 5 in Greece. A five-year programme using the same method was launched in Australia last year, and Mexico will follow next.
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