THE DISCOVERY HEALTH / FLIP FILE
"HEALTH OF THE NATION" PROJECT 2004

Sporting Chance with our sponsors, Discovery Health and Flip File firmly believe in the positive role that exercise and sport can play in a child's life. Whether at a social or competitive level, sport is a fundamental component of a child's development, teaching both sport-specific skills as well as crucial life skills. Furthermore, sport participation at a young age teaches the benefits of following a healthy lifestyle which includes regular exercise.

AIMS OF THE PROJECT
This project aims to raise an awareness of the importance of both sport and exercise amongst children. It also aims to:
1.  Collect data from South African school children so we can compare our children to other SA children as opposed to children from America or Australia.
2.  Determine the health of the nation so that we can take steps to minimise the effects of health related illnesses which are the result of unhealthy lifestyles (includes over-eating, not exercising, eating large amounts of fatty fast foods etc).

PHASES OF THE PROJECT
There are two phases to the project:
Phase 1: Testing phase
Our team of exercise specialists visit a school on a pre-arranged day and perform the following tests on the children:
• height and weight
• hamstring and lower back flexibility
• standing long jump (measure of lower leg muscle strength)
• shuttle run (measure of speed and endurance)
• sit ups (measure of stomach muscle strength)
• cricket ball throw (measure of arm and upper body strength)
The aim is to test a broad range of children (both sporty and not) from various cultural and historical backgrounds.
Phase 2: Report back phase.
We analyse the data from the school with the assistance of the UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and generate a report of the school's results. The findings are incorporated into a report on how that school has compared to age-related norms in the Western Cape. We return to a school and present the findings of our report and offer recommendations on how to improve any areas of weakness that we found.

The schools tested this year were:
Eastern Cape:
Ben Sinuka
Garret
Grey - PE
Macchui
Papenkuil
Gauteng:
Dr Knak
Ekukhanyisweni
King Edward Primary
Troyville
Yaoville

KwaZulu-Natal:
Clareville
Durban Primary
Marionhill
Northdene
Olwambeni
Freestate:
Botlehadi Primary
Grey Bloemfontein
Mabeoana Primary
Maboloka Primary Meisieskool Oranje