“For your health, play prevention.” An athlete, a pass of the ball and a simple, direct appeal. This is how more than a dozen associations and sports clubs from all over the country, partners of Hospital da Luz, marked World Cancer Day, on February 4th. In total, 18 teams accepted the Hospital da Luz challenge to draw attention to the importance of cancer prevention. The goal was to involve athletes from each of these sports partners in content that would have an impact on social media, where a member of one of the club teams, touching a ball, would say directly to the camera ‘For your health, play prevention’. And everyone completed the challenge perfectly. Each of the 18 short videos, where the Hospital da Luz brand and the symbol of the respective club are highlighted, was shared by Hospital da Luz's sports partners involved in this initiative and republished on Hospital da Luz's social media. Regular physical exercise and sports are one of the ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle and thus prevent many diseases, including cancer. The involvement of athletes in this initiative and their public commitment to health prevention can contribute to the behavioral changes that are needed, especially among younger populations, and to greater awareness of the risks of diseases when the option is not to play for health. Every year, 2.6 million people are diagnosed with cancer and an additional 1.2 million people die from the disease. Europe has a quarter of all cancer cases and less than 10% of the world's population, making cancer in this region of the world, to which Portugal belongs, a huge public health threat. It is estimated that in 2050, cancer will have an average incidence of almost 80 thousand new cancer diagnoses in Portugal*, ten thousand more than the current annual average. In addition to exams, health literacy is considered one of the ways to successfully prevent oncological diseases. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, not smoking, avoiding being overweight or obese, as well as excessive alcohol consumption, and eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in red meat, all help to reduce the risk of various types of cancer. A health plan where physical exercise is also essential to prevent many diseases. For your health, play prevention! Thanks for the great advice to all our sports partners Federação Portuguesa de Rugby Casa Pia Atlético Clube CF Estrela da Amadora Associação Académica de Coimbra Rugby Associação Académica de Coimbra Basquete Clube de futebol Os Belenenses Basket Clube de Vila Real Iliabum Clube Basquetebol Clube Desportivo Xico Andebol Vitória Sport Clube Sport Clube Vila Real Varzim Sport Clube Ginásio Clube Figueirense Academia Sporting Vila Real CD Feirense Futebol SAD CD Póvoa Basquetebol Ricardo Ribas (corrida)
