14/09/2010

They will also carry out joint actions in the battle against doping

• Measures are foreseen as the creation of a Platform for Physical Activity and Health and the promotion of the prescription of physical activity through primary care in order to prevent diseases related with inactivity.
• The collaboration will also extend to the State Anti-Doping Agency, with which will be worked together in order to prevent and eradicate this social threat on health.
• In the context of promoting healthy physical activity, the minister reminded that on October 10th Madrid will host a third edition of the 'Bike Tour'.

The Minister for Health and Social Policy, Trinidad Jimenez, and the Secretary of State for Sports and President of the Superior Council of Sports and of the State Anti-Doping Agency, Jaime Lissavetzky, signed today two agreements (one between the Ministry and the Superior Council of Sports and another between the Ministry and the State Anti-Doping Agency) to strengthen institutional connections between these institutions and collaborate in the promotion of the adoption of healthy lifestyles by encouraging physical activity and sport.

In Spain, the absence of a common practice of physical activity is closely related to the high incidence of overweight and obesity that experiences our country, with 15% of the population obese and almost 40% overweight.

For this reason, and in addition to other actions taken by the Ministry like the Strategy for nutrition, physical activity and prevention of obesity (NAOS Strategy), the agreements signed today establish collaboration between these institutions to promote actions in improving health through the practice of physical activity and sport in the entire population.

The agreement with the Superior Council of Sports has, among others, the following areas of activities:

1. To design a plan of action for health promotion in the population increasing the level of physical activity and sports in a healthy way. In order to achieve this, a platform on Physical Activity and Health is planned to be created, with the various stakeholders so as to streamline and to share resources and encourage the propagation of information on the subject.
2. To define the actions necessary to ensure that in the primary and secondary prevention of diseases linked to sedentary, the prescription of physical activity, for both healthy and sick people, will be a common practice by public health. To this end, the training needs of primary care professionals in this field will be defined and work will be performed on the integration and optimization of health and sports resources to facilitate their use in health programs and in promoting healthy physical activities and sports.
3. To work on the implementation of means of effective communication, awareness and information designed to promote physical activity and sport as a fundamental element of a healthy lifestyle.
4. To increase the research and execution of studies on the impact of physical activity and sport on health.

AGREEMENT TO FIGHT AGAINST DOPING

Regarding the agreement with the State Anti-Doping Agency, the aim is to provide a systematic and transversal framework of prevention, control and suppression of doping in general. Currently, doping not only poses a social and ethical threat to the values of sport, but forms also a serious risk to the health of professional athletes and occasional sports players.

In this way, the agreement has the following objectives, among others:

1. Expand the training tasks for the acquisition of habits that encourage a healthy and balanced diet, in the prevention of doping in sport.
2. Contribute to the prevention of the use and consumption of social drugs and doping substances, and promoting scientific research in this area.
3. Promote initiatives on information, dissemination, training, etc., in order to prevent and progressively eliminate doping.
4. And finally, define areas for joint action in relation to the traceability of medicines and other products presumably related  to the existence of doping in sport, as well as on monitoring and inspection measures in this area.

In this context in search of health promotion through sport and physical activity, the minister also highlighted that sport is a protective factor against drugs. As an example of this line of action, the minister reminded of the upcoming celebration of Bike Tour, a bike ride that on October 10th and for the third time will traverse the main streets of Madrid. Entries can now be performed on the sports floor of El Corte Inglés de Goya, Paseo de la Castellana, Princesa and San Chinarro.