Parents Advised To Pay Attention To Kids� Diet

Second lady, Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur has advised parents in the country to pay attention to the kind of foods their children eat in order to ensure healthy meals for them. She said families must always be active; therefore, parents must take keen interest in the kinds of foods their kids and family members take. She also advised school children to take cooked food from their homes to school instead of buying food from outside. Mrs Amissah-Arthur gave this advice during the launch of this year�s World Heart Day last Thursday under the theme �Creating heart-healthy environments wherever you live, work and play.� She challenged Ghanaians to adopt healthy lifestyles by eating fresh vegetables and fruits, engage in physical exercises and keep their environment clean to prevent heart and other communicable diseases and prolong their lives. She again recommended frequent medical check-ups for Ghanaians so that any unknown ailments could be detected from these check-ups. In a message delivered by Abdul Samed Tanko on the day, he stated that the World Heart Day was founded to educate the world on heart-related diseases and stroke. He said there are currently four risk factors that contribute to heart-related diseases; namely, tobacco, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and alcohol intake. He called on Ghanaians to take note of these risk factors. He added that there would be a prolonged media campaign to educate Ghanaians on these risk factors. This year�s World Heart Day will be celebrated on Saturday, September 27, 2014 at the Efua Sutherland Children�s Park. A health walk will be held from the Danquah Circle in Osu through to the Ring Road, then to Ako Adjei, and end up at the Efua Sutherland Park. At the park, participants will be taken through aerobic sessions and health screening on heart-related disease. This year�s event is being organised by the National Cardio Thoracic Centre (NCTC), Ghana Health Service (GHS), and World Heart Federation (WHF), and sponsored by Vodafone Ghana Limited, with support from AstraZeneca.