????
A section of the audience at the first Keep Moving Barbados event, held in March at Ilaro Court.
The Ministry of Health and the National Task Force on Physical Activity and Exercise will host a Keep Moving Barbados exercise beach event at Browne’s Beach, to mark Caribbean Wellness Day, next Saturday, September 11.
The event will run from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. and will include beach volleyball, cricket, aerobics, line dancing, paddleball, skipping, beach boot camp sessions, a beach walk led by Coastal Zone Management Unit staff, and a hike led by the Barbados National Trust to some of the historic sites of nearby Bridgetown.
According to Senior Health Promotions Officer at the Ministry of Health, Denise Carter-Taylor, "in previous years, the Ministry of Health and the National Chronic Non-Communicable Disease Commission worked together and staged activities in Bridgetown, including aerobics, testing and an emphasis on healthy eating.?? Those activities were very well received, so we are looking forward to Barbadians coming out again this year to take part in the event," she said.
??Meanwhile, Lifestyle Fitness Coach and Task Force member, Kenneth Griffith, urged Barbadians of all ages to take part in the mass exercise event.??
"We are going to take in the nice sunset at the beach with the backdrop of the Prime Minister’s office, to really show Barbadians how they can get outdoors and take part…We want to show people that enjoying themselves, in activities that they love, can contribute to meeting the recommended physical activity needed for good health and fitness," he explained.??
The event, a follow up to the first Keep Moving Barbados held in March at Ilaro Court, is another attempt to get Barbadians from all walks of life to include physical activity into their daily routine as a means to promoting healthy lifestyles, longevity and the prevention of chronic diseases.
The Task Force is reminding persons interested in organising exercise programmes at the community level to register for its two-day workshop, to be held on Thursday, September 9, and Friday, September 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Pan American Health Organization, Dayrells Road, St. Michael.?? ??It will provide participants with basic knowledge and skills to enable them to safely conduct group exercise programmes.?? Interested persons should call the Ministry of Health at 426-5080, 467-9401 or 467-9454.?? The deadline for submitting applications is 3:00 p.m. on Friday, September 3.????
Caribbean Wellness Day was initiated by the CARICOM Heads of Government, following their landmark Chronic Disease Summit held in Port-of-Spain in 2007.?? It was designed as a starting point for a plan of action to reduce the high incidence of CNCDs in the Caribbean.?? Lisa Bayley (LB) – lbayley@barbados.gov.bb