THE MINISTER OF HUMAN CAPACITIES RECEIVES DR KENNETH H. COOPER

Mr Gábor Balogh, president of HSSF also took part in the meeting

Mr Zoltán Balog, Minister for Human Capacities received in his office Dr Kenneth H. Cooper, the founder of the world-renowned Cooper Institute. Mr Gábor Balogh, president of the Hungarian School Sport Federation (HSSF) was also present during the meeting.

Minister Zoltán Balog, being responsible for both sport and education affairs, stated that the Hungarian Government is determined to support the healthy physical, psychological and mental development of children, therefore daily physical education has been introduced in an uplink direction in grades 1, 5 and 9 as of school year 2012/2013, while as of 2015, every grade will take part in the programme. The minister highlighted that the Hungarian Government is also launching a programme aiming at the development of public education infrastructure and that starting from this year, the physical fitness of students will be assessed in every full-time Hungarian school.

Dr Kenneth H. Cooper declared that sport and physical activity are the most important assets to prevent diseases, and therefore they are “the cure” supported by scientific researches. Dr Cooper also raised the attention to the fact that child obesity and diabetes are major risk factors and that children are keener on developing a sporty lifestyle than adults. Dr Cooper emphasized that regular physical activity has a positive impact on children’s school performance and may minimize the spread of school absence.

The Hungarian School Sport Federation hosts in Budapest on September 16-18, 2014 the HIPE 2014 International Conference on Quality Physical Education, where Dr Kenneth H. Cooper will also hold a presentation.