The Regional Directorate of Education of the Algarve distinguished all 16 pre-school establishments to the 2nd and 3rd cycles of education in the municipality of Portimão which, in the 2010/2011 school year, participated in the Escola Ativa Project, an initiative aimed at promoting physical activity and healthy habits to counteract childhood obesity.
In this way, 4228 children were covered, as a result of the commitment made at the beginning of the school year between the Education and Sports services of the Municipality of Portimão and the directors of the existing school groups in the municipality, the number of classes involved in 2009 having been greatly exceeded/ 2010, which went from 112 to 192.
Thus, after receiving five Bronze awards in the 2009/2010 school year, schools in Portimão have this year obtained seven Bronze, five Silver, two Gold (EB1 of Mexilhoeira Grande and Jardim da Figueira) and two Platinum flags, among the six flags at the regional level, which distinguished the EB1 in Alvor and the Kindergarten in Alvor.
In global terms, 143 schools in the region received sporting material and the attribution of a platinum, gold, silver or bronze flag, according to the score obtained, taking into account the actions and activities carried out throughout the school year.
As of 2010/2011, the Active School Platform on the Internet will start operating, which will function as a monitoring and linking instrument between the various groups, schools and teachers involved in the project.
According to studies by the World Health Organization's European Child Nutrition Surveillance System, the prevalence of childhood obesity in the Algarve dropped by more than 14 percentage points from 2006 to 2008, placing the region with the lowest rate in terms of overweight, pre-obesity and obesity compared to other regions in the country.
The Escola Ativa Project emerged within the scope of the Regional Program to Combat Childhood Obesity in the Algarve Region through the Superior School of Education and Communication of the University of Algarve, was implemented by the Regional Directorate of Education of the Algarve, by the Regional Directorate of Algarve of the Instituto do Sport of Portugal, by the Regional Health Administration of the Algarve and the 16 local authorities in the region, and consists of an integrated concept of promotion and adherence to physical and sporting activity, making the educational community aware of the problem of child sedentary lifestyle.
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