KOMPAN

KOMPAN takes up today’s health challenges
KOMPAN Play Institute has released a new publication on health, play and childhood to address the fast growing obesity and overweight epidemic.
 
The World Health Organization estimates that in these years 1.7 billion people are overweight and at least 300 millions are obese. This also means that today children struggling with overweight actually outnumber those facing famine.
 
“During the last couple of years we have experienced a huge interest from our customers about how to address the obesity epidemic amongst our children. From many studies we know that play is one of the best means to fight children’s inactivity. So we decided to put together a series of facts and suggestions for solutions on how to fight children’s inactivity´”, tells Jeanette Fich Jespersen, International Manager of KOMPAN Play Institute.
 
Children are becoming less and less active due to new behavioral patterns such as computer games, parents taking their kids to school by car instead of having them use their bike etc. The sedentary lifestyle of our children have drastic consequences – not only for their physical health but even for their learning, social and emotional skills. In KOMPAN we know that play areas are excellent health promoters for young children, and the great side effect of this kind of pleasure is the fact that while they play, the children are burning off energy.
 
Local governments working strategically with physical activity in relation to outdoor environment have good opportunities to make a difference in children’s activity level as seen in the case from the Norwegian city of Stavanger. Jeanette Fich Jespersen explains: “Stavanger has succeeded to make plenty of outdoor areas which have attracted both local and neighboring children. A part of their success is related to their approach: They have invited children and youth in city planning and have been keen to place play facilities in areas already attractive for leisure”.
 
It is important that we communicate and share the many successful examples of well functioning play areas as a mean to fight obesity. We hope that local governments and our customers and partners can make use of this publication.
 
KOMPAN Play Institute
January 2007