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Danish scientist kicks off fun fitness program
A former Danish national football player, who was assistant coach for three years at world champion Italian club Juventus, is running a month of fun football games at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Professor Jens Bangsbo, also a world-leading sport scientist from the University of Copenhagen, said these modified games were not about winning.
“The goal is to improve the health, fitness and well-being of USC staff and students,” he said. “They are small side games, so everyone gets a chance to touch the ball.”
Professor Bangsbo is leading a collaborative research project between higher education institutions, hospitals and medical centres in Europe which has repeatedly shown the health benefits of regular football training, regardless of the skill level of the participant.
“We knew it was a high intensity sport but we were surprised to see such marked and complex effects, such as reducing body fat and elevating muscle mass, strength and balance, when just playing for fun,” he said.
The studies showed a significant reduction in blood pressure and resting heart rates among both middle-aged men and women who took up the game.
“We also found that the training could be used as a treatment for people with hypertension,” he said.
Professor Bangsbo has, in collaboration with FIFA, developed the Football for Health program which has been successfully implemented in Denmark.
He is visiting USC to collaborate on research into peripheral arterial disease, which afflicts about 20 percent of adults aged over 55.
The team of academics and students are assessing how active and passive exercise can boost the growth of capillaries and increase blood flow to the legs.
USC exercise physiologist Dr Chris Askew said much of Professor Bangsbo’s previous research combined his expertise in both muscle physiology and soccer.
He said the games were open to USC staff and students, with no previous soccer skills required.
“In fact, we’re hoping to encourage people who don’t have any regular form of activity,” he said.
Dr Askew said he hoped the Football for Health games would become popular and USC could potentially link the program to exercise research projects.
“In Europe it’s been found that regular participation in soccer is better than running or gym exercise for people who previously were inactive,” he said.
— Julie Gatehouse