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Impact of Lifestyle Choices to be Discussed at Friday Policy Forum

January 28, 2004

The Full Story

Director of Health Promotion and Protection in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Deanna Ashley, will outline the devastating impact of lifestyle choices on the health of Jamaicans at this month’s Friday Policy Forum, hosted by the Management Institute for National Development (MIND).
The forum, which will be held at MIND’s Old Hope Road campus, will also hear about critical issues, such as treatment costs for these lifestyle diseases, including life-threatening Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
Dr. Ashley told JIS News that last year, more than 50 per cent of deaths in Jamaica were related to chronic lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart ailments, obesity and some cancers.
And while medication and other treatments are clearly exercisable options, these can be expensive and are by no means as personally satisfying as disease prevention strategies such as exercise, dietary management, quality rest and recreation.
Dr. Ashley, who has the distinction of holding several international positions, is also a prolific writer. She holds the positions of Chairman of the Policy Advisory Group and Member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, both of which fall under the World Health Organization (WHO) Special Programmes of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction.
She is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the International Diarrhoeal Research Centre (ICDDRB), in Bangladesh, as well as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Concept Foundation in Bangkok, Thailand.
An Associate Lecturer in the Department of Community Health at the University of the West Indies, Dr. Ashley has written on topics as diverse as ‘Medical conditions present during pregnancy and risk of perinatal death in Jamaica’ to ‘Oral rehydration therapy in management of acute gastroenteritis in children in Jamaica. new prospects for treatment’.
The MIND Friday Policy Forum has been serving as an avenue for the dissemination of information on matters of national importance. The last forum’s presentation was delivered by Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner of Customs, Allison Moore, who spoke on the modernization efforts taking place at this crucial institution.
Persons interested in attending the forum, may make enquiries at the MIND headquarters, Old Hope Road.

Last Updated: January 28, 2004

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