CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — National Nutrition Council (NNC) Region 3 led a fun run among government workers to promote healthy and active lifestyle.
Dubbed as “Fun Run Para sa Nutrisyon”, the activity is anchored on the theme “Kumain nang Wasto at Maging Aktibo…Push Natin ‘to!” (Eat healthy and do physical activity … let’s push this!), which seeks to promote a balance between healthy diet and regular physical activity.
“Eating properly and being physically active go hand in hand to ensure that we are healthy. But the most crucial part is how to sustain these two practices in order to reach our optimum potentials. That is why we are advocating for consistency among the public when it comes to their health and nutrition,” NNC 3 Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Ana Maria Rosaldo said.
For his part, University of the Philippines Diliman-College of Human Kinetics Professor Hercules Callanta said that consistency in terms of maintaining one’s health and wellness means doing physical activities at least four times a week.
In his talk, he explained the benefits of physical activities and the risks associated with sedentary lifestyle.
“Prolonged sitting in our offices or what we call the sitting disease has the same risk as smoking. When we have sedentary lifestyle, good cholesterol drops by at least 20 percent. After 24 hours, your insulin protectiveness drops also, resulting to an increase in the blood glucose level,” Callanta said.
He added that this can also lead to a number of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like heart diseases, many types of cancers and other conditions like hypertension, fatty liver, obesity and overweightness.
Based on the world inactivity index, 80% of the population worldwide practice sedentary lifestyle, and four million people die annually because of NCDs associated with this behavior.
With this, Callanta highlighted the importance of good eating habit, rest management and ample physical activity to prevent the risk of premature death.
“Physical activityhas many benefits. Primarily, this lowers the risk of early death. Exercise also lowers the risk of pulmonary heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. It also promotes better functional health and reduces abdominal obesity,” the professor said.
With this, Rosaldo thanked those who participated in the activity and hopes that this will become a regular activity of government workers every year.