[Source: SportAccord] SportAccord 2019 is delighted to confirm its HealthAccord conference: The Power of Sport – The Power to Change will take place on Tuesday 7 May 2019 from 09:00-12:30. This follows its successful launch at the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit in Bangkok, Thailand this year.

Prof. Margo Mountjoy, Co-Chair for HealthAccord commented on the benefits gained for delegates attending the conference:

“HealthAccord 2019 is a great opportunity for SportAccord participants to learn from healthcare professionals and technology experts on topics that are relevant for all sports: athlete mental health, nutritional supplements, technological monitoring of athlete injuries and wearable sensors in sport.

Learning how to enhance your athletes’ health will ultimately result in improvements in sport performance. We are excited to bring the latest evidence in science and technology to Gold Coast to help you improve your game!”

This year’s action-packed conference will cover a number of topics including a panel session on mental health in relation to athletes and society. The panel will examine innovations, diagnosis and treatment, the links between mental health and activity levels, and the effects on performance and quality of life. Panelists will also share practical tools and takeaways to help international federations tackle issues and break down barriers to treatment.

Giving her perspective on athlete mental health, panelist Kathy Martin, Senior Director, Athlete Assistance, Women’s Tennis Association said:

“The HealthAccord conference promises to deliver innovative and practical information for SportAccord attendees. Learn from experts in the field, get tips and takeaways gleaned from work with elite athletes on and off the field of play. Apply these ideas to your own sport to enhance your athletes’ health and performance.

It is an honour to present at HealthAccord and to be among professionals who desire to help athletes from all disciplines to thrive competitively, physically, mentally and emotionally. Let’s play!”

Co-Chairs leading the HealthAccord conference programme are: Prof. Fabio Pigozzi, President, FIMS (International Federation of Sports Medicine) & Member of the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission – Medical and Scientific Group; and Prof. Margo Mountjoy, Chair, ASOIF Medical + Scientific Consultative Group, IOC Medical + Scientific Commission-Games Group FINA Bureau.

Organisations involved in the business of sport who wish to attend HealthAccord should register for the Gold Coast edition which entitles them to join the entire conference programme and take advantage of all the opportunities on offer.

As part of the Official Schedule, delegates will be able to enjoy over 20 networking events, a popular 3-day Exhibition and Sports Festival taking place in the outstanding Gold Coast Conference and Exhibition Centre situated close to Queensland’s stunning coastline.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord using #SA2019, or keep up-to-date via LinkedIn and Facebook.

Six cities have received the designation of Global Active City. 

The cities – Buenos Aires, Argentina; Hamburg, Germany; Lillehammer, Norway; Liverpool, UK; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Richmond, British Columbia, Canada – have worked hard to offer all their residents the opportunity to choose active and healthy lifestyles and improve their well-being. Each city has embraced a management model that motivates people at risk of inactivity-related illnesses to take up regular physical activity and sport.

In order to receive the Global Active City label, they each had to pass an independent audit with a stringent review of their physical activity and sports strategies and working practices.

Regular physical activity can contribute to reducing the risk of a number of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, as well as a number of mental disorders. The Active Well-being Initiative (AWI), an international NGO responsible for the Global Active City label, works with city leaders to help them provide projects and services that engage local residents who have or are likely to develop these NCDs. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults do a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate activity each week, and children aged five to 17 should do an hour each day.

Professor David Wood, President of the World Heart Federation, said: “Physical inactivity is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke. As part of our World Heart Day My Heart, Your Heart campaign, the World Heart Federation is actively encouraging people across the globe to adopt more active lifestyles for their heart health. The Global Active City programme will be an important initiative as we seek to get the world moving and in particular in tackling the barriers to exercise experienced by some city populations and specific sections of society.”

The Global Active City Standard was created with input from more than 70 experts in health, sport and social sciences; legacy and sustainability; tourism; and urban planning and management. 

“Obesity is a disease that has become a global epidemic,” explained Dr Nathalie Farpour-Lambert, President of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) and one of the standard’s medical experts. “Recent WHO data shows that almost 40% of adults and over 41 million children under the age of five are overweight or are living with obesity, and rates are projected to increase further by 2030. We know that obesity is associated with a higher likelihood of developing related chronic diseases like heart disease.

“Childhood is the crucial life phase for obesity prevention and for introducing healthy behaviours around nutrition and physical activity that can last a lifetime. The Global Active City model, promoting cities which have succeeded in increasing participation in physical activity and sport, helps us tackle growing levels of inactivity and non-communicable diseases globally, and supports young people and their families in becoming more active, focusing on community well-being for all in a holistic way.”

The Global Active City programme was founded by Evaleo, a sustainable health association, and TAFISA, The Association For International Sport for All, with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The first cities will receive their awards from the AWI in the presence of IOC President Thomas Bach, at the Olympism In Action Forum in Buenos Aires, as part of the opening events for the Youth Olympic Games. Buenos Aires’ Global Active City strategy – Ciudad Activa – is one of the many legacies of the Games for the local population.

Christophe Dubi, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, said: “The mission of the IOC is to ensure the celebration of the Olympic Games, but also to encourage the regular practice of sport by all people in society. The Global Active City programme is crucial in our vision to increase access to sport for all and provide everyone with the educational and health values of sport, with a focus on young people. We encourage all cities, including past and future Olympic cities, to sign up.”

The Active Well-being Initiative recommends that cities which want their populations to be more active should start by identifying key stakeholders and available resources, and partnering with local universities, to find which groups are most at risk from inactivity, and least engaged, and how to reach them. The Physical Activity Exchange at Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group were development partners for the Global Active City model.

Doctor Maurice Smith, Clinical Director from NHS Liverpool CCG, said: “The evidence shows that if you can get a population physically active, you will make huge benefits across a range of areas. In Liverpool, we worked out in 2016 that if we got 100% of the city physically active, each year we would prevent 400 deaths, almost 2,500 cases of diabetes, 140 to 150 hospital admissions for coronary heart disease, 50 cases of breast cancer, and 30-40 cases of colorectal cancers. These benefits far exceed anything you could do medically and certainly exceed all the screening procedures that go on.”

To find out more about the Global Active City model, visit activewellbeing.org or follow @AWBInitiative

[Source: Active Well Being Institute]