Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals in swimming in Beijing. At aged 9 he was diagnosed with AttentionDeficit Hyperactive Disorder, always full of energy, talked constantly, unable to concentrate in school,always fidgeting, unable to interact during learning, difficulty in listening. He received medication atSchool - but Ritalin is a banned substance by the International Olympic Committee. ADHD young peopleneed parameters - the two lane lines were ideal ! The water provided a safe heaven to release energy andswimming is quite regulated in terms of time management. Things get to be done sequentially too. SoPhelps found a sport that suited his condition and sent a message to others that exercise, aerobic physicalActivity, sport could be a vital component in combating an increasingly widespread condition -ADHD.
The economics of China’s stunning Beijing Olympics in 2008,China got what it paid for, 51 gold medals,100 medals in all and the place at the top of the medal table and a statement of superiority broadcastthroughout the world. Now we know there are lies, damn lies and statistics, and the United States ofAmerica will tell you ( as it always believes ) the country winning the most medals overall wins - yes, 110medals makes America the winners ! A gold medal China had hoped to get was in the 110m hurdles,where expectations were that Liu Xiang would retain his title from Athens 2004. Having spent in accessof £45million for his gold medal, there must have been shock horror in Beijing when he never made thefinal - walked off the track injured.
There are countries who see it quite differently. Bahamas will convince you they topped the table andwhat’s more Jamaica were second. Medals won in relation to population size gives the top prize toBahamas. Olympic Sports competitors require high standard facilities and support, and if all who metOlympic qualification performance standards were eligible to compete, then a different dimension wouldemerge. Olympic medals cost money, and each competing nation places a value on each one, but do theperceived benefits ever translate into engendering more of its population to participate in sport andregular physical activity as part of healthcare programme ?
In Sydney in 2000, Australia spent 7 times as much as Canada to win four times as many medals.Australia won 58 medals. However, Canada spent a thousand times as much per capita on health as it didon its Olympic team. This figure for Australia would be 170 times . Does it receive benefits in that lifeexpectancy was slightly higher in Canada than in Australia - 79.2 yrs against 79 yrs.?
In February 2006,Simon Jenkin in the Guardian newspaper was asking if Great Britain should spend £540million toachieve 35 medals in the London 2012 Olympics or £660million to achieve 65 ? Or indeed, spend it onsomething else. Having achieved fourth place in the overall medals table in Beijing, it seems smartcomputer work relates Great Britain needs 65 medals ( 17 will have to be gold ) to achieve this loftyposition. The cost to the British tax payer would be £2.5 million a year to 2012, making the cost of eachmedal £15million.
Just as China and Australia were hosting the Games, Great Britain will want to send amessage to the rest of the world that it is a nation of sporting prowess and achievement. It will be anopportunity to galvanise its population and present new national heroes as medal winners emerging fromthe greatest show on earth. Will our pride and joy overflow so that we too follow our heroes andparticipate in our own personal pathways in sport, active recreation and healthy lifestyles ? Evidencefrom the past, states that there is no cross benefit from Olympic prowess to a Nations Health and Welfare.
What seems likely is that we are going to see future Olympic Games set against a world wide Obesity epidemic . Where shall we start? Well, American society is obesogenic. Trends from 1985 to 2008 show that only one state - Colorado - had a prevalence of less than 20%. 32 states had a prevalence of over 25% and 6 over 30%. That means, two thirds of American adults and one fifth of its children are overweight/obese. 60% of Americans are not active at recommended levels. One fifth of the billon people in the world who are obese, are Chinese. Interestingly, China classes any of its population with Body Mass Index ( height x weight relationship ) of 28 or over as obese. If like the rest of us adopting the World Health Organisations definition of obese as a BMI of 30 and over, then we could add another 66million to the total ! As in sport, China has caught up with the West and is showing the unwanted signs of modernisation . There may be a cultural belief that excess body fat represents health and prosperity, but people are doing less physical activity and there is less labour intensity.
From 1980 to 2003 the number of cars in China has quadrupled to over two million and there is greater reliance on buses and motorcycles. Overcrowded, heavily industrialised urban areas make walking, cycling inappropriate. McDonalds, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken are eating into the traditional Chinese diet, Carrefour and WalMart supermarkets are increasing and by 2020, China will become the second largest food retail market behind America. A relatively new feature of Chinese society are ‘Fat Farms’, four week summer weight loss camps in most Chinese cities. It should be remembered that China has a one child per family policy, and they tend to be doted upon. Furthermore, China has the largest smoking habit in the world - 1 in every 3 cigarettes produced in the world is consumed in China. China has more than 200 million people living below the poverty line. Does its medal haul in the Olympics represent a poor allocation of resources ? The cost for China in winning each of its 32 gold medals in Athens 2004 was approximately $US102,000, and called ‘The most expensive gold medals in the world’.
Jamaica has seen its obesity rate double in the last ten years. It may be cultural factors predispose its people to obesity, highest rate in the 40 - 54 yr olds where 36.2% are obese. 35% of the 15 - 18 yrs age group are obese. Overall, 52% of 15 - 74 yrs are overweight or obese. Increased wealth, five fold increase in the number of car ownership since 1984, high rates of diabetes mellitus, indicate why the Caribbean has some of the highest obesity rates. Usain Bolt may be the iconic figure of Jamaican sport, and Jamaican sprinters are dominating , but can he engender greater physical activity amongst its population. ?
Just 3 years before the 2012 Olympics in London, Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary stated that the United Kingdom must move from relegation candidates to play-off contenders in the International physical Activity League table. The aim is to move Britain up the European league table in terms of physical activity as it lies in 21st place when levels of physical activity are compared. Burnham went on to say. ‘This builds on the Olympic legacy(2012)..we need ambition for physical activity commensurate with the ambition we’ve already shown in hosting this decade of sport ( 2012 Olympic Games, Rugby League World Cup 2013, 2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, 2015 Rugby Union World Cup, 201 Football World Cup, 2018 ? Cricket World Cup 2019 ).
Just as five years ago, we set ourselves the target of coming fourth in the 2012 Olympic League tables, now we want us to aspire to fourth place in the physical activity league tables over the next ten years.’ You tend to feel that our time is arriving to plan and deliver something special.
Britain gained 14 cycling medals in Beijing, many more in the Para - Olympics, each one of the 14 medals costing £1.58millon. Yet, just 1% of all journeys in Britain is taken using a bicycle. Cycling England state that if there was a 20% increase in cycling by 2015 then Britain could save £107million in premature deaths and £52million in lowered NHS costs. No wander the NHS will be promoting cycling for the masses. The Netherlands with 27% of all journeys by bicycle show us how far we need to move in terms of adopting active transportation policies. Britain carries the tag of being the ’Fat Man of Europe’, seems like its going to be a long time in recession while neighbours France is showing signs of economic recovery. In France, however, McDonalds is more profitable than anywhere else in Europe. Britain is being encouraged to ‘ Get Active, Be Healthy - Keep Moving’ and ‘Change for Life‘.
Through 2007, 23% of UK children aged 4 - 5yrs were overweight/obese and more than 32% of aged 10 - 11y yrs. ‘Get Active, Be Healthy - Keep Moving’, ‘Change for life’ needs to be taken on board especially within those poor areas of Britain, like Stockton on Tees, in the North East of England. To maintain fourth place in the 2012 Olympics medal table, to reap the advantages of ‘playing at home’ in our ‘ Golden Decade of Sport’, then lets hope we get ‘value for money’, and that our National Health Service becomes a major beneficiary from our efforts.
