Young People Urged To Adopt Healthy Lifestyle Practices

Young people are being encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyle practices from an early age, to reduce their risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) later in life.

Regional Priority Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Programme and Family Health Coordinator at the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Dr. Marcia Johnson Campbell, said while NCDs are often associated with older persons, the behaviours that contribute to their development can begin much earlier.

“The disease can appear later, but the risk patterns begin now and that is why we have to get to you now because the future is in your hand. The changes and actions that you take now is what is going to affect you later,” she added.

Dr. Johnson Campbell was addressing students during the Westmoreland Public Health Department’s Caribbean Wellness Day Youth Conference on Thursday (October 1).

Students from Grange Hill High School and Frome Technical High School attended the conference, which formed part of activities surrounding Caribbean Wellness Day, observed on September 12.

Dr. Johnson Campbell told the students that NCDs are long-term conditions that develop over time and cannot be transmitted from one person to another. Priority conditions include heart disease and stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes.

She outlined five “youth power moves” that young people can incorporate into their daily lives to protect their health.

These include being physically active through walking, dancing, football and cycling; eating more whole foods and vegetables; reducing consumption of sugary drinks, excess salt and highly processed foods; avoiding smoking; and knowing important health indicators such as blood pressure, blood sugar, weight and cholesterol.

“Your body was designed to move. So, move more, sit less and make activity a part of your lifestyle,” Dr. Johnson Campbell urged.

She also encouraged the students to take personal responsibility for their health rather than assuming that a family history of certain illnesses means that they will inevitably develop them.

“Don’t blame the fact that… my granny has ‘sugar’ (diabetes), and my mother have hypertension and you think that, oh, it’s running in my family so it’s going to happen to me,” she implored.

“You don’t have to be obese even if other persons are obese. Take control,” Dr. Johnson Campbell underscored.

She encouraged the youngsters to see good health as an important part of achieving their educational, professional and personal aspirations.

“Your future needs you healthy, so start today. The degree you are working for will open doors, but your health determines how well you walk through them. Your health is not separate from your success, it supports your success,” Dr. Johnson Campbell said.