Lecture - Physical activity for health and weight loss?

Lecture organised by the Medical Service in the framework of the campaign "Move! Eat better", by Dr Per Bo Mahler.

Thursday, 21 June, 6.30 p.m.
Main Auditorium

Subject and context
Physical activity plays a vital role in human evolution and is one of man's most important basic needs. However, it was not until the 1990s that scientific literature started to take a real interest in it. World Health Day in 2002 helped to raise awareness of the impact of physical activity on health in industrialised and developing countries alike.

The benefits of moderate physical activity are universally recognised. Today a sedentary lifestyle is known to be a risk factor on a par with or even greater than smoking.  The recommendations are an hour of moderate physical activity per day for children and at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week for adults. Nevertheless, a large proportion of the population continues to be insufficiently active.

Substantial differences can be observed according to age, region and country and are attributable to various factors (biological, psycho-social, behavioural, social and environmental). Making a significant change in the habits of a population requires efforts to be made at all levels. Health promotion measures are essential to encouraging regular physical activity.

About the speaker
Per Bo Mahler is a specialist in sports medicine and holds a masters degree in public health. For twenty years he has been chief medical officer at the Unité alimentation et mouvement of the Geneva Youth Health Service. The unit is responsible, among other things, for promoting health in schools. Per Bo Mahler is also a sports doctor at the La Tour hospital.

For more information:
www.ge.ch/ssj/
www.la-tour.ch