Healthy Boulevard to boost Healthy Lifestyles

St. Kitts, April 03, 2010 (SKNIS): Health Boulevard is going to be the Ministry of Health’s most recent and creative method to improve the health and lives of the residents of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Planned for World Health Day, Wednesday, April 07 – Healthy Boulevard is the Federation’s method of using the World Health Day theme to encourage healthy lifestyles. The general theme is “Urban Health Matters” and in speaking with the St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service, Director of Community Based Health Services Dr. Hazel Williams-Roberts said that two components are being highlighted.

“The theme helps us to focus on the health challenges of living in areas with a high concentration of business activities,” Dr. Williams-Roberts said. “In the Ministry’s interpretation of the theme we focus on the impact that urban environments have on physical activity and food intake. People in these areas tend to purchase more fast foods, that are typically fried have high salt, sugar and fat content. There are also fewer spaces for physical activity and so persons there tend to be more sedentary or have access to vehicles and so are less likely to walk. This is why we are focusing on healthy eating and physical activity at Healthy Boulevard.”

Dr. Roberts detailed that Healthy Boulevard takes place on Fort Street from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. In terms of the healthy eating component it will feature a Farmer’s Market from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and persons in the vicinity are encouraged to come by and collect literature on healthy diets while purchasing vegetables, fruit or even a well balanced meal. The Director of Community Based Health Services said that the exercise aspect will start at 9:00 a.m. and includes various demonstrations on fun and creative physical activity. These include cheerleaders, Boys on Bikes -Children’s Carnival Troupe and a Taekwondo group that will all do several routines. All the mentioned activities are creative methods to be physically active without employing the formal aerobics, floor or even jogging exercises.

Dr. Roberts took the opportunity to thank the various entities including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Sports and the various organizations that volunteered to demonstrate their activities.