The South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES), released on 6 August 2013, paints a grim picture of the country’s medical status, however, research published on 12 June 2013 shows that Cape Town is the country’s fittest city in terms of physical activity related health and infrastructure.
The ‘Vitality Fittest City Index‘, undertaken by Discovery Health’s Vitality wellness programme in conjunction with various industry experts, also ranked Cape Town highly in terms of the percentage of people who indicated that they participated in at least moderate levels of physical activity.
According to the survey: “The Mother City knocked the socks off its rivals, offering its residents the greatest number of facilities (sports clubs, gyms, fitness amenities and recreational parks) per 100 000 people. It also has the lowest car dependency, using substantially more public transport than the national average.”
“As a Caring City, our intention is to provide quality recreational and sporting facilities of a world-class standard within easy access of the communities they serve,” says the City’ Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Special Projects, Alderman Belinda Walker.
The City’s Sport, Recreation and Amenities Department provides 166 formal sport complexes, 16 indoor sport facilities and 36 swimming pools. In the next few months, the City will be opening four full-sized synthetic pitches, bringing the total to 12, while a further four will be constructed during the current financial year. Five new spray parks will be opened before the start of the Festive Season.
The City’s own Recreation Research Study conducted two years ago found that Capetonians were more interested in recreational programmes such as health and fitness, arts, crafts and games than formal sports such as soccer and cricket. Since then, the City has opened 30 recreational hubs across Cape Town, with a focus on after-school activities, learn-to-swim programmes, fitness and life skills as well as providing activities for seniors. This includes mind-stimulation games, jumping castles, face-painting, arts and crafts, darts, foozball and hula-hooping.
“We are doing what we can to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle. We want people to partake actively in sporting and recreational activities rather than just watching them on television,” says Alderman Walker.
