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[Luxembourg 2005 Presidency of the Council of the European Union]
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You are here : Home > News > Press Releases > April 2005 > Jeannot Krecké : "To fight sedentary lifestyles, we need to convince young people that playing sport is fun"
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Press Release
Jeannot Krecké : "To fight sedentary lifestyles, we need to convince young people that playing sport is fun"

Date of release : 29-04-2005

Policy area : Education, Youth and Culture Education, Youth and Culture

Event : Informal Meeting of Ministers for Sports


At the press conference following the informal conference of Sports Ministers held in Luxembourg on April 28 and 29, Sports Minister Jeannot Krecké presented the conclusions of a study carried out on behalf of the Commission on young people’s sedentary lifestyles.

The minister noted with concern that a growing number of young people are affected by obesity.  There are believed to be three major causes of obesity: genetic predisposition, bad eating habits and a lack of physical activity. Neither genetic predisposition, which has not increased in recent years, nor the fat content in the diet (which, in contrast to preconceived ideas, has fallen over the last fifty years in Europe) can be blamed for this growth.  However, the habits of young people do seem to have changed significantly in relation to the third cause.  Consequently, Jeannot Krecké stresses "that the observations of this study are alarming and that there is an urgent need to take action faced with a society that is becoming increasingly sedentary and that is not feeding itself properly."

Therefore, we must promote physical activity and sport among young people.  But Jeannot Krecké warns:  "There’s no point explaining to someone that a sporting activity is healthy.  You just need to show him or her how much fun it is."

Jeannot Krecké concluded by saying that "if we don’t react effectively and decisively, we will have a society that has a real public health problem."


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This page was last modified on : 29-04-2005

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