#GetKidsMoving World Health Day - 7 April

by Georgina Shaw
(Marbella)

What’s On 4 España, Spain’s first dedicated activities website for children, launches in Andalucia on World Health Day, the 7th of April. Their week-long launch includes a host of activities, free listings for businesses and the start of their Get Kids Moving Challenge in support of the WHD theme of Beating Diabetes.

Spain has one of the worse records for overweight children and obesity in Europe, with 26% of children deemed overweight or obese 1. This worrying trend is even higher in adults and the key to stopping these statistics increasing is to focus on children, as childhood offers the greatest opportunity to learn and establish healthy habits around nutrition, physical and social activity2. By encouraging children to be more active, eating a healthy diet and maintaining a normal body weight, parents can significantly reduce the risk of developing lifestyle related diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes3, which is why the What’s On 4 España team have created the #GetKidsMoving Challenge to inspire and support parents to act now or as soon as possible.

What’s On 4 España www.whatson4.es is an online resource, created by parents for parents, to help visitors find children's activities, classes, sports, events, school holiday ideas and children's birthday party services. There are three websites; one for babies and toddlers www.whatson4littleones.es, one for school age children www.whatson4schoolkids.es , and one with everything required to throw the perfect kids’ party www.whatson4kidsparties.es.

Launching in Andalucia on the 7th of April, all 3 sites will become a hub of information, ideas and inspiration for busy mums, dads, grandparents, care-givers and teachers who like to know what's going on in their local area. New activities are added daily and businesses are being invited to submit a free activity listing during the launch week by emailing info@whatson4.es

At the core of all three sites is the aim to help parents encourage their children to be active physically, emotionally and mentally, as research clearly shows the benefit of an active childhood on development and learning2. This is why they are launching a #GetKidsMoving Challenge which over a period of 30 days will provide weekday tips, suggestions and motivation to parents to encourage them to make small but significant changes which encourage their children to spend less time in front of a screen and more time trying other more sociable or physical activities. The #GetKidsMoving Challenge will help families find ways to start their children on the path to good health from the youngest possible ages.

Get involved with the launch of What’s On 4 España and find out more about the #GetKidsMoving Challenge by meeting the team at the Living Well Marbella Event at Hotel Puente Romano on 9th-10th April, joining the online Facebook launch event on the 14th April, emailing info@whatson4.es or visiting http://www.whatson4.es/. The challenge will start on 15th of April and its free to take part, you just need to sign up to receive the motivational emails.

1.OECD Obesity Update 2014 http://www.oecd.org/spain/Obesity-Update-2014-SPAIN.pdf
2.Exercise for children: The cognitive benefits http://www.parentingscience.com/exercise-for-children.html
3.WHO Global Recommendations on Physical Activity http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_recommendations/en/