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| OECS Health Ministers call for enhancement of physical education in schools |
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| Written by Media | |
| Wednesday, 14 November 2007 13:49 | |
 The OECS HIV AIDS Programme Unit (HAPU) Health says tremendous health benefits can be achieved from the continuous improvement of physical education in schools.
Dr. James St Catherine, Project Coordinator of the OECS HAPU believes associating academics with physical development will further shape the environment for people to begin to think healthily: “The whole question of the integration of sports in the school is important, but for the chronic and communicable diseases, it’s another factor. I recall when physical education was part of the curriculum; an almost necessary part. Many schools dropped it after the first year and are only focusing now on whatever level. People are now saying this is not a part of the curriculum anymore because the focus now is on the academics. True! Academics need to be focused on, but having an academic die from a heart disease at the age of thirty-nine isn’t going to help you. Where I think you need to look is at a balanced approach again. That is why the question of integrating the academic with the physical education is absolutely important and imperative. Statistics have shown this.”
On reviewing the report of the CARICOM summit on Chronic-Non Communicable Diseases, the OECS Health Ministers are considering their countries effective participation in regional approaches through assistance from the Pan American Health Organisation PAHO. | |
| Last Updated on Thursday, 18 June 2009 15:25 |
The comments from the OECS HAPU official follows considerations by OECS Health Ministers to further promote the improvement of physical education in schools. At their 10th annual meeting, OECS Health Ministers listed several recommendations regarding health issues and conditions in the region. Among the regional approaches is the selected target of supporting the improvement of physical education in schools: “You look at the average age of persons who are obese. It is declining… At five years you could find some body just simply beyond being obese. Statistics have shown that among persons over the age of forty-five in the West Indies their chance of being obese is like fifty percent. One has to start inculcating the minds of persons from their early school days. This is really retooling or retraining the mind to see physical education in a different light. You don’t just tell somebody from the age of forty just start exercising when they don’t even understand why they are doing this, especially with the competing fast food advertisements. We are working in a very competitive environment where people’s time is premium and if it’s being bought in by those who are promoting something that is going to make them obese you better start to inculcate their appreciation of what good health is from a very early age.”- St Catherine. Subscribe to our Newsletters
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