Few adolescents engage in moderate physical activity on a daily basis. To overcome this problem, Public Health France is launching from October 24 the second part of its campaign entitled “Make teens move”. This time, the authorities are targeting young people by offering them a new format on Snapchat, with the participation of influencers they know well like Just Riadh. Details.
When it comes to physical activity, young people are generally hard to motivate. They drag the dough and groan at the slightest effort. For them, it’s simple, sport is a bit like yet another chore. In figures, this translates as follows: among young people aged between 11 and 14, only 34% of boys and 20% of girls practice 60 minutes of physical activity per day. Faced with this phenomenon, Public Health France is launching from October 24 and until November 20, 2022, the second part of its campaign “Make teens move”. This time, teenagers are the first concerned, the campaign is aimed directly at them. For this, the authorities have imagined a dedicated Snapchat account, @EnModeDeter. Every day, it will be fed by fun physical activity challenges, to be carried out alone or with others. Young people won’t be bored, the form, duration and intensity of the challenges are varied. And to make it all a little more attractive, personalities popular with teens will also be there, such as influencers Just Riadh, known for his humorous videos and Manon Pasquier, famous for her content on TikTok. Once a week, they will launch in the form of a contest “the challenge of the week”. At stake, for the winners, surprises and a meeting with one of the influencers. In addition to all this, other activity sessions will be offered with real sports professionals, Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
The first part of the campaign
Since the beginning of September 2022, Santé Publique France has initiated a campaign to encourage adolescents to practice sportswith the slogan “Getting teenagers moving is not easy, but encouraging them is important”. First, she spoke to parents to make them aware of the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle among teenagers, to motivate them to get their child(ren) moving, and to suggest tools or means to achieve this. Because the risk of developing obesity from early adolescence is one of the most significant dangers, which can impact the health of teenagers, and especially young girls, in the long term.
Real health risks
Based on the observation that French adolescents do not move enough, Santé Publique France has set up this campaign to encourage, but also to prevent. The more or less long-term health consequences are serious: mcardiovascular diseases, obesity and even cancers can be favored by the absence of sports practice, while a regular session would significantly improve “their respiratory capacity, muscular, metabolic health, bone health” while helping them maintain a healthy weight, the health agency statement said.
The urgency of getting girls moving
Culturally, girls are not encouraged to practice sports from an early age. When a little boy is offered a ball or a bicycle, it is rather sedentary and indoor games that are offered to girls: dolls, tea sets and other creative hobbies, which do not give pride of place to physical expenditure. Also, the notion of competition, of performance are just as foreign to them and have difficulty in being integrated later in the context of a sporting practice. In fact, during adolescence, only 20% of girls follow the health recommendation of one hour of activity per day. How then to encourage them to take up sport, when they are much more disturbed by the physical upheavals occurring during adolescence than boys? “Playing sports at puberty prevents young girls from storing fat in the thighs and buttocks and the appearance of cellulite, and allows them to have a more harmonious and homogeneous silhouette” assures Professor Duclos, head of the sports medicine department at the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital and president of the National Observatory of Physical Activity and Sedentary Lifestyle.
It is therefore first of all a question of transforming the reading grids: exit the competition, make way for well-being and the pleasure of cultivating one’s form thanks to gentle activities, practicable alone or in a group such as Pilates or Yoga. Then comes to integrate the idea that a sports session is not necessarily the result of a superhuman effort that makes you sweat profusely, but that a dance session with friends, a walking tour of the city or going to college by bike is already a way to move. And if it is recognized that sports practice allows better to have better school results by increasing the ability to concentrate, it is especially essential for girls, since the health crisis linked to Covid 19, to find an outlet there. to morbid thoughts and other depressive inclinations. Today still two years after the start of the epidemic, young girls are much more likely than boys to suffer from mood disorders and to have suicidal gestures. But sport is “the best curative and preventive treatment against anxiety and stress” says Professor Duclos at Figaro.
The role of parents
Still decision-makers at many levels in the lives of their teenagers, parents are the first to be able to make things happen. Santé Publique France indeed considers that it is part of their function to encourage their young person(s) to play sports, and it is in this sense that the campaign was addressed to them in the first place. “The parents are first of all a model for the child who will be able to reproduce their behavior in a form of mimicry. Beyond this role model, parents can provide different types of support whether it is logistical support (e.g. registration for physical activities, transport to the place of practice) or persuasive support (e.g. encouragement)” could we read in the press release. From the start of the operation, it was accompanied by this campaign film.
In addition, Santé Publique France has made available to parents, on the website mangerbouger.fr a test to be able to assess the level of physical activity of their child as well as a page full of advice to help them find the right arguments to make them get up a little… if they don’t follow the WHO recommendation of one hour of moderate or intense activity a day.
The benefits of sport outside of health
In addition to the health benefits, sport also has other advantages for the youngest, especially from a social point of view.
To build oneself socially
A teenager who regularly practices a sporting activity in a club or during his PE lessons will develop socially. He will interact with his comrades, his teammates, share moments with them, which will allow the teenager to open up to others and develop a certain self-confidence.
Have a team spirit
It is well known that sport is a good way to develop team spirit, this feeling of being part of a group and sharing an objective, a passion. Through sport, a young teenager will learn to adapt and cooperate with teammates to achieve a common goal.
have a model
In a sport, teenagers often have a role model, an athlete or a coach. The coach in particular teaches discipline and rigor to the youngest. He is also there when a child needs to confide or be reassured about his skills.
Build strong friendships
As training and team competitions progress, the teenager will forge links with his comrades. By sharing their common passion for sport, but also their doubts, their failures and their victories, the links can gradually turn into a solid friendship.
Get organized
We may not necessarily realize it, but sport can also help a teenager to better manage his time. By being on time for training, by finding a balance between school and sports, the child will follow a certain routine and use his time in a productive way.