Jamaicans Invited to Participate In Summer Fit Stops

State Minister, Health and Wellness Ministry, Hon. Krystal Lee, is calling on Jamaicans to participate in the inaugural Jamaica Moves Fit Stops summer competition, which will be held on July 25.

The health and wellness scavenger hunt will see teams completing challenges across the corporate area, combining fitness, adventure, community engagement and healthy living in an exciting new way.

Being held through collaboration with Creative Factory, the competition is part of initiatives aimed at combatting non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which are the leading cause of death in Jamaica, accounting for approximately 78 per cent of all recorded fatalities annually.

The four major conditions driving this statistic are cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases.

Addressing a recent media briefing at the Creative Factory in Kingston, Ms. Lee noted that the Jamaica Moves Fit Stops initiative aligns perfectly with the Government’s preventive care agenda.

“Preventive care is what it’s about. We also want to remind everyone that this whole thing is about ensuring that we live longer, healthier lives, and we are able to contribute more meaningfully to society,” she pointed out.

Noting the value of exercise in combatting NCDs, she is imploring persons to find the time to engage in some physical activity.

“That is why Jamaica Moves Fit Stops is creating this programme for persons to realise that not everybody may be dedicated to the gym to pump weights and ride a machine and so on, not everybody will be able to go up and down a hill on a daily basis, but what we are saying to Jamaicans is, you can get active in various ways,” she noted.

She said that persons can start their fitness journey by walking.

“Walking does so much for you. Walking helps your mental capacity; it helps you unwind. When you walk in groups, like our recent Park Walker initiative that we launched for our senior citizens… you build friendships and walking now becomes something exciting and encouraging,” Ms. Lee pointed out.

The State Minister also highlighted the importance of eating balanced meals and consuming less sugary drinks and processed foods.

State Minister, Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Kerensia Morrison, endorsed the competition as a fun way to combat the sedentary lifestyle that has invaded the daily routines of Jamaicans.

“The modern lifestyle has caused many of us to lapse into this sedentary way of doing business, even entertaining. So, I am happy that our country has reached a level of consciousness, where we are going to get up, start moving with Jamaica Moves and Fit Stops which is really a worthy cause and a worthy call,” she said.

Chief Executive Officer, Neish Creative Group Limited and Event Director for Fit Stops, Jason McNeish, in providing details about the Fit Stops competition, said that a launch event will be held on July 2 in the format of a Fitness Rave, where persons may register.

On competition day, teams of four will carpool and solve clues, which will direct them to health and wellness locations across Kingston and St. Andrew. At each location,
they will complete fitness, wellness and problem-solving challenges.

The competition is an opportunity to discover gyms, wellness centres, sports facilities and healthy food options across the corporate area.

Registration opens July 2 at @fitstopsja @jamaicamoves2.0.