By Samira Larbie, GNA
Accra, Feb. 18, GNA - Mrs Cynthia Morrison, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has encouraged parents to be responsible with foods consumed by children to ensure they maintain healthy weight to stop the increasing rate of childhood obesity.
She said foods prepared at home had been reported to promote healthier dietary patterns and, therefore, parents must endeavour to prepare their children’s food to support their wellbeing.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Accra, Mrs Morrison said the intake of fizzy drinks, consumption of fast foods, societal factors, and physical inactivity among other things by children, especially in schools, had contributed to an overall higher calorie, fat and sugar intake.
She said it was about time parents went back to preparing their children’s drinks and food at home, saying; “We have a lot of fruits so I will only encourage parents to start preparing children’s drinks at home. This is the only way to solve the problem right from infancy”.
Obesity is a medical condition, which occurs when a person carries excess weight or body fat that might affect his or her health and usually results from consumption of foods in excess of physiological needs.
It is a serious health hazard as the extra fat puts a strain on the heart, kidneys and liver as well as the large weight bearing joints such as the hips, knees and ankles, which ultimately shortens life span.
Research indicates that in addition to the problems created by competitive fast foods, limited financial resources have reduced interest within schools in meeting federally established nutritional standards for meals.
Some schools provide an increasing amount of unhealthy fast food to their students and, therefore, it was important for parents to be responsible in ensuring that whatever their children consumed was healthy.
It is against this background that many professional health organisations and advocacy groups support legislation that would address the growing problem of childhood obesity.
GNA
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