Share

Get Moving for your Health

accreditation

Being involved with the Projects & Events at the Sports Science Institute of SA (SSISA) proves to me that there is never a dull moment. With SSISA always being on a mission to improve the general wellbeing of our nation through the application of science, one of my favourite annual campaigns has to be our “Move for your Health” campaign.

More about "Move for your Health"

Based on the global World Health Organisation campaign where on 10 May annually, or in fact any time that suits each country – the “Move for your Health” campaign strives to generate public awareness of the benefits of physical activity in the prevention of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity.  Wanting to have more of an impact on getting people physically active 365 days of the year, we run a 6 week campaign – that leads up to the MySchool Move for your Health 6km fun run/walk.  Here we encourage all local schools to participate, getting the “masses” active.

While looking for a different spin on this year’s campaign, we decided to base it on the 2014 Healthy Active Kids South Africa (HAKSA) report card developed in conjunction with the SSISA. This report card examines the best evidence available for the current health status of South African children and youth, and asks the question: Are we doing enough?  With that question being posed, the idea is to highlight key issues over a 6 week period and come up with at least some solutions to the challenges that our children face in South Africa.  And who better to ask to help out than a “Mommy Blogger” - who will write a series of blog posts related to Move for your Health.  Imagine my surprise when a colleague and I became the appointed “Mommy Bloggers”!  It seems being a Mom of 4 qualifies me to be the voice of reason.

Since we are going to be spending the next couple of weeks together, I think it is only polite to introduce myself and Fatimah.

Nikki Ferreira

So I am Nikki, mom of 4. My Tribelet’s range in age from 20 to 4. In a nutshell I have 1 in each educational sector: varsity, high school, primary school and play school. By day I am at the SSISA, where I manage the projects and events.  By night I am in the Southern Peninsula where I manage bath time, homework, crowd control and on the odd occasion -dinner. When I do get a spare moment, I share my thoughts on my blog.

Fatimah Davids

We then have Fatimah, a single mom of one seriously smart 8 year old girl; the kind of smart that requires a lot of explaining about why exactly carrots are good for your eye sight and sunshine is good for your health. By day she shares an office with me as the digital media co-ordinator for the SSISA and at night she’s a gym go-er and pre-bedtime drill sergeant (respect!)

After some brainstorming Fatimah and I decided we were not taking on this task alone. Therefore I sent an SOS out into the Bloggersphere and received comment from many other Mommy Bloggers. This content will be shared with you over the next few weeks and here are the subjects we will be tackling:

What you can learn from the "Move for your Health" campaign:

The above issues are very daunting and challenging and I don’t think for a minute that by discussing them and looking for solutions we will solve our nation’s challenges.  I do, however, think that if we start with ourselves and influence those around us, we are eating that “elephant” one bite at a time! More from us soon! We appreciate your comment and feedback.

Read more:

Should we tell our kids they're fat?

How to get fit on a budget

7 ways to make fitness fun

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE