Promoting prevention through sport and a healthy lifestyle

The 14th edition of Tennis & Friends – Health and Sport has begun, an event promoted by Onlus Friends For Health to spread the culture of prevention through sport and healthy lifestyle. “Prevention is YOUNG” is the motto of the event, which again this year offers all citizens the opportunity to carry out free examinations and screenings thanks to the coordination of Salute Lazio and Asl Rm1. During the #BeActive European Week of Sport – an international project launched in 2015 and co-financed by the European Commission and the Ministry of Sport of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers – which promotes sport, healthy and active lifestyles and the physical and mental well-being of citizens Tennis & Friends brings together the excellences of the region’s healthcare system for its citizens and creates a real health and sports village.

After the day dedicated to the “School Project”, in which thousands of students from all levels of Lazio took part, in the presence of the Minister of Sports and Youth, Andrea Abodi – with the inauguration in the presence of the institutional representatives – the Health Village, the Sports Village and the Interforce Village of the General Staff of Defense, Police and Financial Guard officially opens its doors to the public. For two days, until Sunday October 13, citizens will have the opportunity to carry out free examinations and controls in the largest health village ever, with the presence of all the Rome and provincial health departments, the 70 health establishments of Lazio, one of the Asl Città di Torino and the military doctors.

This year, for the first time, physicians from Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO) in Philadelphia and Temple University are also under the oncologist’s leadership Antonio GiordanoPresident of Sbarro, with the vice president Giancarlo Arra present. A complete circuit with 170 stations offering free screenings in over 65 specialties, thanks to the collaboration of more than 500 health professionals. These are the prevention pathways: allergology; audiometry; Cardiology; cardiac surgery; diabetology; Dermatology; gastroenterology; high blood pressure; endocrinological, metabolic and alcoholic diseases; gynecology and senology; occupational medicine; sports medicine; Neurology; child and adolescent psychiatry; clinical nutrition; ophthalmology; dentistry; ear, nose and throat medicine; ear, nose and throat medicine; orthopedics; Psychiatry; respiratory diseases; pediatrics; HCV prevention; HIV prevention; Psychology; rehabilitation and functional recovery; rehabilitation and functional rehabilitation for children; Urology, vascular medicine. Also this year DonatoriNati – which has been spreading the culture of blood donation for twenty years by offering the opportunity to support men and women of the State Police and Fire Brigade who accompany every solidarity initiative – will be present with an information stand and which will offer, Donating blood on board a Lazio Region blood donation mobile with medical staff from the Sant’Andrea Hospital.

Since 2011, the year the event was founded, the number of visitors and thus the number of screenings carried out at Tennis & Friends has been constantly increasing. Last year, the main event in Rome was attended by over 80,000 people, with more than 30,000 free examinations. The last edition in Turin, which took place for the first time in Piazza Castello from September 20th to 22nd, was also a great success, attracting over 40,000 visitors and carrying out over 20,000 screenings. In total, around 1 million citizens took part in the event at all stops on the national “tour” of Tennis & Friends Health and Sport, with a total of 350,000 free check-ups.

“Prevention plays an increasingly important role in early detection, especially for serious diseases such as cancer,” said Prof. Giorgio MeneschincheriFounder of Tennis & Friends Health and Sport, specialist in preventive medicine and lecturer at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. The annual report ‘The figures of cancer in Italy 2023’ shows an increase in diagnoses of 4.9% compared to 2020. 40% of cancers could be avoided through prevention and a healthy lifestyle, but unfortunately participation in the new screenings, offered by the National Health Service is still low, reaching 50% in 2022. The reasons are varied, but the main problem remains the fear of receiving a negative diagnosis. But prevention alone is not enough, you also need an active lifestyle, which, however, appeals to fewer and fewer people today. Just think that 30% of the adult population is sedentary and only 51% of young people between the ages of 6 and 24 exercise regularly. Sport is an important form of prevention, but more support is needed from institutions to ensure access to physical activity for everyone, regardless of economic opportunities. Health is a universal right and must be promoted from an early age.