It’s that wonderful time of year again. ECF partner ISCA (the International Sports and Culture Association) is currently hosting their 5^th annual Move Week.

Move Week has been a regular part of the larger Now We Move campaign since 2012. The campaign is pan-European and focuses on getting people to simply move more. This year it is being hosted in May, with over 1516 events planned in 27 countries (so far), and it looks to be just as successful as the previous editions.

The goal of Move Week is to educate the general public about the importance of being physically active and encourage them to participate in regular sports and movement. It is a series of open events that everybody are welcome to participate in. So far there have been events for hiking, dancing, martial arts, swimming, of course cycling and much more. To read more about and to find events near you go to: http://moveweek.eu/

So why is Move Week an important event?  ISCA has calculated in their Inactivity Time Bomb research, that the lack of exercise in daily life costs Europe a total of 80 billion a yearly, and is the main cause of half a million deaths a year. If 1 in 5 started to regularly exercise we would save 16.1 billion annually and could prevent 10.000 deaths. Physical activity can also help reduce mental health issues, something that affects 1 in 4 Europeans today. It is important to know that to gain the benefits of this you do not have to become an athlete, you just have to move regularly throughout the day. You can find more information about the time bomb here: http://inactivity-time-bomb.nowwemove.com/

Finding time for movement in a hectic schedule can be hard. That is why we here at ECF do not only encourage cycling is an excellent way to get from A to B, but also as a great way contribute to those 30 min of your daily exercise recommended by the WHO.  So keep on pedaling and have a great Move Week.