A guide to enjoying the World Cup
The long-awaited World Cup is just about to kick off in Brazil and the Public Health Agency (PHA) is cheering on football fans to make good health their goal during the tournament.
The PHA has produced some healthy tips for those watching the matches over the next few weeks.
Mary Black, Assistant Director for Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement at the PHA, said: “The World Cup is a great time for getting together with friends and family to relax, catch up and watch the matches, and the PHA is encouraging people to use this sporting spectacle as an opportunity to think about their own health and wellbeing.
“We can use the excitement of watching some of the world’s top sport stars as inspiration to get active ourselves.
“With the party atmosphere in full flow, it is also easy to lose sight of the amount of alcohol we are drinking, the calories we are taking and looking after our general health, so we’ve pulled together a kit of top tips for fans to look after themselves during the tournament.”
Healthy tips kit
Exercise
Set yourself a challenge to get active during half time – while the footballers are resting it’s your turn to play:
• Use the 15 minute break to go for a walk around the block or have a kick about with the football with your friends and family and you’ll be halfway to achieving your daily activity target. If you can’t fit it in at half-time, try it at another time of the day.
• It is recommended that adults should be aiming for 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days (at least five days) each week. For health benefits activities should last 10 minutes or more.
• Children should have at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each day. However, any physical activity is better than none.
Being physically active can help improve mental health by lifting mood, reducing anxiety and helping to protect against depression. Being physically active helps maintain a healthy weight and can reduce the risk of many diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer and colon cancer.
Healthier eating
During the World Cup, it will be easy to snack more often on high calorie, salty foods, so here are some ideas to help you keep an eye on what you are eating:
• With many of the games on in the evening around dinner time, check out the new healthy recipes on the PHA’s www.choosetolivebetter.com site and theme your pre-match meal around who’s playing. Spaghetti Bolognese for the Italy game, Greek lamb when Greece takes on Colombia or oriental stir fry for Japan’s Group C matches.
• It can also be too easy to reach for some unhealthy high fat snacks while watching the match, so you might think about making something different at home, like the healthy South American-inspired pitta crisps with salsa and guacamole dip, or play a substitution and have plain or spicy popcorn instead of a bag of crisps – recipes for healthy snacks can be found on www.choosetolivebetter.com
• Even small changes will make a difference, like snacking on a variety of fruit or sliced carrots and cucumbers to eat with a low fat dip.
Alcohol
The PHA advises giving binge drinking the boot during the World Cup. Here are a few tips on enjoying alcohol sensibly, should you choose to drink during the tournament:
• Always look after yourself and know your limits. It is recommended that men drink no more than three to four units daily, and no more than 21 units over the course of the week, which is equivalent to around nine pints of standard beer.
• It is recommended that women drink no more than two to three units daily and no more than 14 units over the course of the week, which is equivalent to around one and a half bottles of wine.
• Remember, for each unit you drink over the daily limit, the risk to your health increases. It's important to spread the units throughout the week – you can't ‘save up’ your units for a special match or get together.
Sun care
Many people will choose to watch the matches outside and others may even be lucky enough to travel to Brazil, or other holiday destinations. So don’t forget your sun cream when getting ready to go out.
There are a number of simple steps that will protect against the sun’s harmful rays:
• Seek shade when the sun is at its strongest – generally 11am to 3pm.
• Cover up in the sun with a long sleeved t-shirt, sunglasses and a hat.
• Use sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 15 for UVB protection and 4 star for UVA protection. Apply liberally 30 minutes before going out in the sun and re-apply at least every two hours.
For further information on safe fun in the sun click on www.careinthesun.org
Enjoy the tournament and enjoy good health.