e-Debate: Helen Alderson comments in Round 2

Helen Alderson provides a key insight into attaining the balance between sport and other components to achieve well-being. Read her responses below...

Delivering a balanced or holistic approach in S&D programmes is often advised, but difficult to implement. What are three main challenges we face in trying to maintain a balance between sport and other components?
It is very often a challenge to ensure that there is a balance between sport (physical activity) and healthy nutrition. i.e. calories in – calories out. The promotion of sport cannot be a substitute for a healthy diet!

Sport often conflicts with competing priorities such as classroom time, learning languages or computer skills.

Integrating the benefits of sports/physical activity into other key development components such as education, gender equality, health is difficult as the latter are often considered more “serious” issues that need to be addressed.

Describe a bad example of trying to embed sport in other interventions aimed at addressing health issues?
Bad example: Cadbury promoting chocolate consumption in a scheme to promote sport and physical activity.

Although this is a worst-case scenario, fast food, confectionary and other industry promotion of physical activity is often designed to develop brand loyalty to unhealthy foods or distract or discourage attention to issues such as marketing practices, or the inappropriate availability of fast foods (vending machines) for children.

They can also subtly give the message that as long as you exercise, it is ok to eat junk food by associating brands with health imagery and activity.

The take away is that physical activity promotion in children should NOT be a substitute for addressing causes of unhealthy diet, and the two should always be linked.

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