Antony Jinman - The reason behind this next expedition? Why?

You may have seen the previous articles, video?s and images releasing information on my training and declaration of heading to Antarctica and the South Pole but what I haven?t yet explained is why? Yes I have to admit it is a personal challenge, it is something I would like to achieve but it is also much more then that. Being an expedition leader is my profession and something that I?d like to think I am good at. I take a lot of pride in the work that I do and realized that I am very fortunate to have developed a career in the polar regions. I want to use these skills and my work to be able to contribute something back into my community and to the world as a whole, I want to help make a difference, if that is only but just a small contribution.

The development of my non-profit Education Through Expeditions has enabled me to share my experiences with young people and help make classrooms and fun and enjoyable place to learn. I am delighted in the team that have helped me to grow and develop my work within education and I am looking forward to continuing on this work for many years to come.

Recently I learned of some shocking statistics through my local paper on obesity and health related issues with young people here in my home city of Plymouth. Plymouth is not alone with these issues and I started thinking about my own health and fitness and how I might prepare for a South Pole expedition. It was through this that I started developing the idea of tackling these social issues and bringing a new element of research and resources that can be used to enhance our community education and outreach work. Through this next project we aim to help educate young people here in Plymouth and indeed the rest of the world about nutrition and healthy lifestyles, helping not just ourselves but also our communities and the environment.

Laura Jack here at ETE has prepared a great article about some of the health issues facing Plymouth.

Please read the facts below about health issues in Plymouth to understand why the outreach work of Antony?s next expedition will focus on the importance of choosing to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Across Plymouth about 10,400 children live in poverty.

Life expectancy is lower than the National average for both men and women.

Life expectancy is 9.5 years lower for men and 4.0 years lower for women in the most deprived areas of Plymouth than the least deprived.

About 18.8% of Year 6 children in Plymouth are classified as obese.

Estimated levels of healthy eating and smoking in Plymouth are worse than the England average.

There are also a number of significant health inequalities that exist in Plymouth, for example:
39% of mums in Whitleigh smoke during pregnancy, the figure is 0% in Glenholt and Woodford.

More than half of Barne Barton children have experienced tooth decay, compared to none in Gleholt and Widewell.

1 in 4 children in Devonport are obese, but Glenholt the figure is 0%.

For the NHS in Plymouth, key priorities are identified as; improving health overall, reducing health inequalities and working with partners to make Plymouth a fairer place to live.

Antony Jinman aims to support these aims, helping to tackle obesity and the health problems associated with it by using his next expedition to the South Pole to educate the City?s young people about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Antony?s trip to the South Pole is aiming to provide lesson resources to educate and inspire students about a healthy lifestyle, a nutritionally balanced diet and the importance of exercising. In addition to this there will also be a comparison of the nutritional value of the foods that Antony will be taking away on his expedition, compared to historical accounts of Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton and what they ate on their expedition.

But, firstly our young people need to understand what health is.

The World Health Organisation defines health as ?the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity?. So, being healthy includes all things from socialising with friends, taking part in physical activity and also eating a nutritionally balanced diet.

Therefore, for Antony to achieve his goal of reaching the South Pole he will need to have a very high level of health, both physically and mentally. To achieve this, Antony will undertake a tough training programme and consume a specific diet. This is required so that after each intense work out his body will recover fully and repair any muscle damage and replenish his energy stores ready for the next training session.

The purpose of this South Pole expedition is to not only educate people on the importance of maintaining a balanced diet and taking part in physical activity, but to inspire people to make these lifestyle changes and choices.

A balanced and varied diet is vital to provide all of the nutritional requirements for our bodies to remain fit and healthy as all of the required nutrients are provided from each of the 5 different food groups. The other factor that needs to be taken into consideration when thinking about a balanced diet is the portion size of each food group, if you were to over indulge in one food group more so than the others then this can lead to health implications. For example, sugar, although perceived just as being ?bad? for you, it is actually the amount and how frequently it is consumed that matters. The other factor with sugar is that it is possibly the most irresistible food group. When we eat sugar it is broken down into glucose and fructose, then the fructose is converted to glucose in the liver, if there is more sugar consumed than burned through activity then the excess glucose is converted into fat.

ETE?s lesson plans and teaching resources linked to this expedition will provide students with a new approach to understanding of the importance of food and to not over or under consume as both can lead to health problems. Food, in the right balance, provides the body with all that it needs to allow it to grow, repair, heal, and to fight illnesses and disease. The classroom resources that ETE will produce to support this expedition aim to eliminate the immediate thought that healthy eating is eating only salads and will educate students on the varied foods and meals, portion size, the reasons for eating these foods and the importance of consuming fluids.

The students will also get a chance to look at processed foods and how they can appear to look healthy and are often chosen to eat due to their convenience. Most processed foods are high in salt and chemicals which are used to preserve the food and make them have a longer shelf life. There are links that show that eating too much processed meat may lead to a lower life expectancy.

The classroom resources will also educate children about the carbon foot print associated with getting foods from their origin to your cupboards, and will educate and encourage the students to eat fresh, local and seasonal produce, which will also help to encourage a varied diet. By eating fresh local produce will it not only benefit health, but it will also have a positive and sustainable impact on the economy by supporting local businesses and will also have a positive impact on the climate, through a smaller carbon foot print.

If you, your school, or community group would be interested in following Antony on his expedition and asking him a questions whilst he is away, using the lesson plans and resources, or even having Antony come to your school, then please get in contact with ETE on info@etehome.org to find out more information about Antony and his expedition to the South Pole.

Source: http://www.antonyjinman.com/the-reason-behind-this-next-expedition-why/

Honey Boo Boo Child marilyn monroe Nathan Adrian London 2012 Synchronized Swimming London 2012 hurdles Taylor Kinney Beach Volleyball Olympics 2012