PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, OBESITY AND HEALTH PROGRAMS IN SELECTED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.

One of the main health-related problems Europe is facing today is the increasing prevalence of obesity in all age groups, especially in youth. According to the International Obesity Task Force (2004) 155 million school-age children and adolescents worldwide show symptoms of obesity or overweight. Obese children are less confident, have lower self-esteem and engagement rate both in and after school physical activity. This is becoming a huge and very costly economic and social problem as well. Positive changes will require modification of the physical education curriculum, especially its contents and teachers' approach. Specially designed programs are required. HEALTH(A)WARE (128737-CP-1-2006-1-DE-Comenius-C2) is a project funded by the European Commission in the Socrates-Comenius Program to enable experimental health teaching within and across school courses. Cross-curricular instruction of knowledge and skills may help pupils in the process of lifelong learning, and hopefully may be implemented in the curricula of European schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]