Ministry of Health educates on the benefits of physical activity
By Ministry Of Health
As part of its efforts to educate students on the benefits of physical activity, the Nutrition Unit recently visited the Patience Mon Repos Combined School and engaged the students in educational talks and fun filled physical activities.
Chief Nutritionist Lisa Hunt says this initiative is necessary and believes making physical activity fun and creative will encourage students to continue exercising and remain healthy.
“We realized that children are very inactive. Especially as the summer is just around the corner, we want to encourage them to be more physically activity and so whatever we are teaching them here today is that we want them to know that physical activity does not always have to be structured. You can have fun activities, for example, today we did hula hoop, hop pooch, we did skipping with them and a number of activities that they quick enjoyed.”
Hunt also spoke on the importance of promoting physical activity among students at an early age as to assist in addressing the increasing global burden of chronic diseases.
“Physical activity plays a key role in preventing obesity and we have a high rate of childhood obesity around the Caribbean including Saint Lucia. So not only will physical activity help them to maintain a healthy weight but it will help to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancers. These are the health conditions that Saint Lucia has so much of morbidity or mortality in. If we start from a very early stage we are able to curb these conditions.”
Two students from the Patience Mon Repos Combined School shared their experiences of this activity.
Student Brianne Brice, said: “We played a game called dodgeball. It was very fun and I enjoyed seeing some of the students trying very hard. It is very important to exercise to keep you healthy and in shape.”
Student Merlan Norbert agreed. “It was a very exciting experience for everybody including me. I think it is important for us to do physical activity to keep our body working, strong and active everyday.”
The Nutrition Unit will continue the physical activity sessions in other schools around the island.
