Come and Keep Moving!

That’s the call of the Ministry of Health and the National Task Force on Physical Activity and Exercise as they host the second Keep Moving Barbados exercise event, at Browne’s Beach, this Saturday, September 11.

The event, which is being held to mark Caribbean Wellness Day, will run from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. ??It 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 guided by the Barbados National Trust to some of the historic sites of Bridgetown.

While speaking about the need for the event, Senior Health Promotions Officer at the Ministry of Health, Denise Carter-Taylor, reported that the last risk factor survey conducted by the Ministry in 2007 showed that the participation of Barbadians in regular physical activity was still below 50 per cent.??

"Although we see persons on the highway and on the Garrison, not enough Barbadians are active on a regular basis.?? So we know that we have a lot of work to do to get more people up and out and exercising regularly.?? This is what the Task Force is trying to do.?? Show people how to exercise and how they can do it at a low cost or no cost and sustain it," 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 to learn some of the ways they could shape their own exercise programme.??

??"Physical activity will contribute to a healthier lifestyle and a better quality of life, we want to encourage Barbadians to get active and stay active.?? So, when they come out to the beach they are going to use their bodies and we will show them how they can elevate their heart rate, increase blood flow, strengthen muscles and increase flexibility by being involved in fun activities, because if it’s fun, you’re probably going to make it a lifestyle habit," he explained.??

Caribbean Wellness Day is being celebrated under the theme, Love That Body; Move That Body, and was sanctioned by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government at the Chronic Disease Summit of 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.????lbayley@barbados.gov.bb

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