Take the heat out of exercise
“A guide for school teachers, children, parents and all sports people on how to play sport and exercise safely in hot weather will be distributed to all North-East schools this month,” Sophie Mirabella, the Federal Member for Indi, said today.
“The North-East obviously has a lot of hot weather, and our children need to be able to enjoy playing without suffering from it,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“That doesn’t mean we have to give up our sport or our exercise, but to play and exercise safely in hot weather we have to understand the dangers of heat stress and how to react.”
The previous Howard Government provided funding to Sports Medicine Australia to update the brochure to reflect the latest research on heat injuries as part of the National Smartplay program. Copies will be sent to physical education teachers in every school, as well as to sporting organisations, sports stores, pharmacies and health professionals.
Mrs Mirabella said the brochure was relevant to everyone involved with sport and exercise, though children as well as people who were older, overweight or unwell, were also at risk.
“Heat illness can be very serious. While most people recover quickly from heat illness, if the condition remains untreated it can lead to heat stroke and even death,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“Beat the Heat suggests that you stop or slow down if you feel unwell while exercising, especially in hot weather.
“Children sweat less and get less evaporative cooling than adults, and should always be allowed to exercise at their preferred level. They should never be urged to exercise harder or forced to play strenuous sport in hot conditions.”
“Most of the advice in the updated Beat the Heat fact sheet involves simple rules of common sense and following this advice should enable Australians of all ages to enjoy the exercise they want and need,” she said.
The Beat the Heat factsheet draws on research recently published in a special edition of the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, devoted exclusively to exercise in hot weather.
It is available at www.sma.org.au or by contacting Sports Medicine Australia.
“The North-East obviously has a lot of hot weather, and our children need to be able to enjoy playing without suffering from it,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“That doesn’t mean we have to give up our sport or our exercise, but to play and exercise safely in hot weather we have to understand the dangers of heat stress and how to react.”
The previous Howard Government provided funding to Sports Medicine Australia to update the brochure to reflect the latest research on heat injuries as part of the National Smartplay program. Copies will be sent to physical education teachers in every school, as well as to sporting organisations, sports stores, pharmacies and health professionals.
Mrs Mirabella said the brochure was relevant to everyone involved with sport and exercise, though children as well as people who were older, overweight or unwell, were also at risk.
“Heat illness can be very serious. While most people recover quickly from heat illness, if the condition remains untreated it can lead to heat stroke and even death,” Mrs Mirabella said.
“Beat the Heat suggests that you stop or slow down if you feel unwell while exercising, especially in hot weather.
“Children sweat less and get less evaporative cooling than adults, and should always be allowed to exercise at their preferred level. They should never be urged to exercise harder or forced to play strenuous sport in hot conditions.”
“Most of the advice in the updated Beat the Heat fact sheet involves simple rules of common sense and following this advice should enable Australians of all ages to enjoy the exercise they want and need,” she said.
The Beat the Heat factsheet draws on research recently published in a special edition of the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, devoted exclusively to exercise in hot weather.
It is available at www.sma.org.au or by contacting Sports Medicine Australia.
Powered by ScribeFire.
posted by Greg Naylor at
4:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home