Revista Ciência em Extensão (Dec 2014)
Health promotion and prevention of chronic diseases in students
Abstract
The number of obese children and without involvement in regular physical activity as well as the number of adults with chronic diseases continuously increases. It is known that adopting healthy habits in the childhood can stimulate a healthier lifestyle in the adulthood. The change in behaviors in the childhood could contribute to reduce the number of chronic non-transmissible diseases in the adulthood. The purpose of this university community program was to advise and stimulate 130 low income children aged between 13.03±1.08 years old to assume habits and behaviors related to a healthy lifestyle not only regular physical activity, but also information about other healthy factors such as eating habits, photo protection, sleep quality, cognition, respiratory health, posture and heart diseases. After a diagnostic assessment of the children, the program involved educational lectures, practical interventions and blitz when the children performed exams related to different aspects of physical health considered in the program. The activities organized considered the initial screening performed. The diagnostic was that children had very few knowledge on topics related to their health and that they could start to consider some aspects of a healthy lifestyle in their daily routine. In the end of the program, we observed that children and teachers were able to retain a lot of information, which we expect was significant to improve their individual and familiar quality of life. All the activities developed in the program were very welcome by the students and teachers.
