The educational setting in early life and throughout the school career plays a key role in determining the state of health in the long-term.

For this reason, the Wellness Foundation decided to provide educators and teachers with materials and activity proposals to bring children closer to a Wellness approach.

The available contents are based on the 3 pillars of the Wellness Lifestyle pyramid:

 

• Movement: sport and movement are fundamental tools for learning and communication, as well as producing benefits from a physiological, health, and well-being point of view.


• Nutrition: nutrition plays an important role in the healthy growth and functioning of the body. If children are educated about proper nutrition, they are more likely to live healthily, not only in adolescence, but also as adults.


• Positive mental approach: a positive mental approach is important for increasing self-esteem, motivation, and a sense of self-efficacy.

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Wellness education also means raising awareness today to feel better tomorrow. Worldwide, over the last 40 years, obesity has nearly tripled and today in developed countries 33% of children are already overweight at the age of 6 and one in 10 children is obese.

Because of this, in 2010 the Wellness Foundation launched “Play Wellness”, an educational program for the prevention of childhood obesity in schools, based on the principles of wellness and movement education for healthy and balanced growth. The project was supported by Technogym with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Education, University and Research – Territorial Office of Cesena and CONI and involved more than 15.000 children between 3 and 9 years old and 1.000 teachers from kindergartens and elementary schools in Cesena and the surrounding area.

The calendar includes indoor fitness events, outdoor activities, sports, nutrition, thermal baths and spas, art, history and culture, for both residents and tourists.

From the coast to the hinterland, a wide range of events to get passionate about movement, with many proposals for free physical activity to fill up with energy and well-being. Over 300 initiatives scattered throughout the Romagna area to discover the excellence of the Wellness Valley and experience Wellness, the lifestyle that combines regular exercise, healthy eating and a positive mental approach to life.

Open days in fitness centres and spas, laboratories, workshops on proper nutrition, nature excursions, cultural walks, tastings, international sporting events, are just some of the many proposals included in the Wellness Week programme which is renewed every year with the participation of all the Municipalities of the Wellness Valley, the Emilia-Romagna Region and the patronage of the University of Bologna.

The initiative was launched in 2015 and attracts hundreds of thousands of participants every spring. In 2021 the Wellness Week took place in September with a new edition: the protagonists were the fitness and wellness clubs, who created a rich programme of activities for the well-being of people of all ages.

From the collaboration between the Wellness Foundation and the University of Bologna, the Master in “Wellness Culture: Health, Sport and Tourism” was born in 2017 within the Department of Life Quality Studies at the Rimini Campus. This Master, which is unique in its kind in Italy, trains professionals capable of working with public and private actors to create programmes and initiatives that can affect the lifestyles and quality of life of people.

In the Wellness Valley area, the Wellness Foundation regularly conducts a programme of training activities for the students of the Wellness Lifestyle course at the Versari-Macrelli Institute in Cesena. 

This secondary school course is the only one in Italy which prepares students for professional and technical jobs in the wellness and fitness industry to respond to the increasing demand for wellness services.

In 2022, the Wellness Foundation renewed the Protocol with the Emilia-Romagna Region and the University of Bologna for the promotion of healthy lifestyles among the population. The Protocol provides for a pilot project to be implemented in the education sector: the “Wellness School”. A new school model where the educational offer, the teaching methodology and the environmental context are rethought and designed on the principles of wellness to promote the health and well-being of students and to stimulate their creativity and active learning.

Let’s Move for a Better World is an exciting challenge that involves fitness clubs from all over the world, creating a real global solidarity network to “donate” physical exercise and promote the Wellness lifestyle in their community.
Thanks to the MOVE – Technogym’s unit of measurement for movement – and Technogym’s digital platform, Let’s Move for a Better World motivates people to move and train regularly to share their results with the Technogym community around the world.
The fitness clubs that accumulate the highest number of MOVEs are granted the opportunity to donate Technogym equipment to their local community for wellness education.

The campaign, launched in 2014, has established itself over the years as a reference event for all sports and wellness enthusiasts to train for a good cause and to inspire people to become more active.
On the occasion of Expo 2015 in Milan, the MOVEs collected by visitors of the universal pavilions were transformed into meals to be donated to children in the poorest countries, thanks to an agreement between Technogym and the World Food Programme.
On the occasion of the Rio 2016 Olympics, the social campaign allowed for the donation of Technogym’s fitness equipment for the benefit of the most disadvantaged communities in Rio.
In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Wellness Foundation collaborated in the social campaign, making it possible for Technogym to donate fitness equipment to set up an exercise therapy centre in Rome dedicated to diabetes research.

Since 2015 Wellness Foundation has been promoting a specific educational program to train general practitioners on the methodologies for the prescription of physical exercise. A cutting-edge initiative in Italy made possible by an innovative agreement between the Wellness Foundation, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Romagna Health Authority and the Medical Association, and thanks to the support of Technogym, a Global Partner of the Exercise is Medicine® (EIM) initiative since its foundation.

The course aims to provide young physicians with the necessary instruments and information to integrate exercise counselling into medical practice and to properly advise their patients on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise for health.

The training course takes place at the Technogym Village in Cesena and includes: 

• theory lessons with experts on NCDs and exercise therapy 


• practical activities at the gym to learn the various exercise protocols that can be prescribed


•  Adapted Physical Activity and Adapted Exercise.

Thanks to this innovative project, over the years more than 500 general practitioners have been trained on exercise prescription and today physical exercise is increasingly recommended and prescribed by the primary care physicians in the Wellness Valley to treat diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer and skeletal disorders.

The benefits of exercise for health are now well known, however some psychological barriers, such as a limited perception of one’s abilities or low motivation, often make it difficult for sedentary people to change their habits and start moving.

The “In Wellness” project was born as an opportunity to engage everyone in regular physical activity: a movement re-education programme accessible to all and especially designed to involve sedentary people and make them aware of how much exercise can contribute to their wellbeing.

 

“In Wellness” offers different types of formats to create activity programmes in every context: Parks in Wellness, Walks in Wellness, Beaches in Wellness, Mum in Wellness, Children in Wellness.

The initiative was successfully launched in 2015 in the Wellness Valley, in a few years it has extended to over 50 cities in various Italian regions.
Thanks to the social commitment of the local fitness and wellness centres, the support of Technogym, and the collaboration with the Municipalities, more than 150,000 people have benefited from this programme.