“44% of children have excess weight that includes overweight and obesity. The high prevalence of these two conditions make the Campania is the region with the largest excess weight in the country, closely followed by Calabria. The attention we pay to the foods we eat on a daily basis has direct effects on our well-being: it is important that more and more people treasure the products that our extremely rich territory can offer”. As Annamaria Staiano, president of SipItalian Society of Pediatrics, on the occasion of the presentation to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty of the second edition of the Five Colors Festival, which will be held in Naples, at the Maschio Angioino, from 17 to 21 May. Minister Francesco Lollobrigida was also present.
Objective of the event: raise awareness among citizens and enhance the Mediterranean diet as an element of health and well-being with meetings in schools, scientific conferences and activities with artists and actors. The initiative will continue until after the summer also in Calabria, a region which has one of the highest numbers of overweight people. It is possible to intervene in time and the first step is to follow up healthy lifestyles, like the Mediterranean diet, is the message also launched by Minister Lollobrigida: “We support this project – he says – because it represents concrete examples of education for people of all ages. The Mediterranean diet represents a formidable tool for the protection of health, which must be defended and valued. This is why we are close to the Festival of the Five Colors, because it represents concrete examples of education towards the population of all ages, with particular reference to teenagers”.
After the 2022 debut that lit up the city of Tropea, this year the project dedicated to wellness and healthy eating – reports a note – will develop into a real tour, which will involve Campania, one of the richest regions in food-related traditions, in five days of meetings dedicated to culture, sustainability, environment, art and entertainment, to then continue in Calabria, another area rich in products part of the Mediterranean diet, until the end of the summer. Aimed at all age groups, from children – with the involvement of the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome – to adults and the elderly, it will see cultural meetings alternating with games and sporting activities. It is organized by the Pancrazio association, born from the commitment of young students of medicine, pharmacy and biology to carry out projects in the field of health.
The Campania Region holds the record for overweight and obese children in Italy: this is demonstrated by the data emerging from a survey by the Higher Institute of Health: 44% have excess weight, with an increased risk – with increasing age – of developing cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, tumors and diabetes.
“We enthusiastically accepted the proposal to organize the Festival in Naples – he says Nicola Caputo, Councilor for Agriculture of the Campania Region –. An ambitious challenge that relaunches and strengthens our commitment to the new frontiers of well-being and healthy eating. The Mediterranean diet is a cultural heritage, but it is not enough on its own. We need to put in place incisive actions to fight obesity and create a real change in consumers’ eating habits. The goal is enhance the health functionality of Campania agri-food products and stimulate prevention, in synergy with Universities, doctors and researchers in the field of human microbiota“.
“We are very proud to have hosted, in 2022, the first edition of this unique Festival and to continue this year with the tour – underlines Gianluca Gallo, Councilor for Agriculture of the Calabria Region –. Talking about correct nutrition also means raising awareness of the consumption of 0 km, good and healthy products, supporting small production companies and the short supply chain. Calabria is among the Italian regions most affected by problems related to excessive weight, for this reason it is important to continue to promote healthy consumption of food”. Exceptional testimonials will participate in Calabria and Campania, including the actor and comedian Nino Frassica, the composer and Oscar winner Nicola Piovani. Guests of the event were the actors and the production of the TV series Mare Fuori, set in the Ipm of Nisida.
“The pandemic has negatively changed the daily habits of a large part of the population – explains Francesco Cognetti, president of Foce – For example, 1.2 million people have started or resumed smoking, and 32% of adults have gained weight. This event will be an important opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of following correct lifestyles, such as follow the Mediterranean diet, fight a sedentary lifestyle, reduce alcohol consumption, do not smoke and adopt virtuous models, in a space capable of combining health, well-being, the environment and art: a truly unique opportunity also to enhance the made in Italy. It takes very little to stay healthy, with zero-cost and non-invasive measures: proper nutrition is the medicine of the healthy”.
“We address children and their parents in a particularly attentive way – he adds Giuseppe Morino, scientific director of the Festival – because it is between the school desks and on the table at home that good eating habits are taught which will have repercussions on tomorrow’s adults. We have created gods dynamic educational paths within the classrooms with games and activities and involving teachers and families to convey an important message to hook the little ones: eating well is fun”.
“After the success of the first edition, this year we return with even more desire to inform, communicate and be together – he concludes Maria Teresa Carpino, president of the Pancrazio association and creator of the Festival –. To do this, we will combine the five days in Campania with a real Tour of the 5 Colors, which will see us traveling throughout Calabria. These two regions are the most affected by weight-related problems and include some of the richest Italian territories in healthy and tasty products. A combination that we could not fail to investigate: here it is really possible to keep healthy by eating delicacies, without depriving yourself of the pleasure of good food. The number 5 is the recurring symbol of the Festival, it represents the five colors of well-being, red, green, white, yellow and blue, linked precisely to fruit and vegetables, foods we must not deprive ourselves of”.
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