Home | First lady | Activities of Silvia Gašparovičová | Year 2011 | Slovakia again involved in World Heart Day
World Heart Day is already firmly established in the calendar also in Slovakia. Already for 11 years, our country is actively engaged in this global educational campaign – also the First Lady of Slovakia is very pleased by this fact. "I always encourage and support activities relating to health and healthy lifestyle. Therefore I have taken also this year the patronage," said Mrs Silvia Gašparovičová at a press conference held on 21.9.2011 in the Carlton Hotel in Bratislava. The World Heart Day will take place in Slovakia on 29 September 2011.
The aim of the educational campaign entitled "One World, one Home, one Heart" is to encourage individuals to take control of the heart health of their family and to take steps to prevent cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including heart diseases and stroke. "Home is the ´critical zone´ for inappropriate way of life that can put families at risk of CVD. Risks are: non-healthy food, inactive lifestyle, smoking and exposure of cigarette smoke to children. As family members interact at home, if you take steps to reduce the risk of CVD, it can have a huge impact on heart health of the entire family," said Ján Slezák, Chairman of the Slovak League Heart to Heart.
According to the First Lady of Slovakia people should more realize that cardiovascular diseases are related to everybody and we should not be indifferent to our health. "We hear about healthy lifestyle from all sides, but not always maintain it as experts are saying. Our attitude towards health we change often only when it is in many cases too late," said Silvia Gašparovičová, whose Foundation seeks to keep the kids at an early age to a healthy lifestyle through the preventive and educational project ´Go Fit´.
By this project the foundation of Silvia Gašparovičová "Education and Health for Everybody" is trying to raise awareness about healthy lifestyle, but also to encourage healthy eating and regular physical activity by children, parents and teachers. "We found that children consume less fruit and vegetables, have poor physical fitness and 13% of them have overweight. The children are really influenced by parents, but many times those are just not the best example. I would welcome if our students would have more physical education in schools. Many of them are rather unbound from this school subject, what should not happen," said Silvia Gašparovičová. She believes that people will not remain indifferent to their health and will participate in awareness campaigns that are prepared for them in Slovakia within the World Heart Day. |