Health Minister Encourages Jamaicans to ‘Keep Moving’

With physical activity offering important health benefits, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is imploring more Jamaicans to “keep moving”.

In a recent message, the Minister said that being active is important to healthy weight management, contributes to improvement in quality of sleep, reduces stress, increases focus, and enhances mood and energy levels.

Citing the World Health Organization (WHO) 2022 global status report, he noted that lack of physical activity is the leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality.

Four to five million deaths could be avoided if physical activity increased globally, he said.

Dr. Tufton said that physical inactivity accounts for 12 per cent of all-cause mortality worldwide, which refers to the total number of deaths from any cause within a specific population during a defined period.

It is linked to 13 per cent of breast cancer, 14 per cent of colon cancer cases, eight per cent of coronary heart disease and 10 per cent of Type 2 Diabetes.

Minister Tufton contended that by becoming physically active “we not only reduce the risk of developing NCDs, but we are able to manage if we already have one”.

He argued that special observances such as National School Moves Day in April, Move for Health Day in May and Caribbean Wellness Day in September and the months that follow, provide opportunities to heighten awareness around the importance of physical activity and engage people in initiatives that will facilitate movement.

“It is for this reason that the Ministry of Health and Wellness partners with varying groups and organisations to increase the promotion of physical activity in the Jamaican population”, the Minister said.