The City Council hosted its annual health expo today – but it was about more than getting a check-up. The folks at CITCO have figured out that community wellness has a lot to do with personal wellbeing. But how accurate is the correlation? I visited to find out.
Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
It started out as a promotion for civic pride but the campaign is not only about keeping Belize City clean, it’s also about taking care of our own health. It is a collaborative effort by the Belize City Council and the Ministry of Health that started two years ago. But just how many of us have been listening?
The children who attended this year’s health expo say they will. It’s anybody’s guess how many of them will try to live a healthier lifestyle but for today at least they seemed to be committed to change.
Anthony Castillo, President – Belize Diabetes Association
“For us this health fair is very timely because there are a number of children who are coming to the booths and need to know and learn about diabetes and we will continue to try to educate our youths and that may be one way that we will be able to stem the rise in diabetes.”
The kids not only listened to various presentations but also answered questions and were awarded with prizes.
Isabel Enfinger, Chemist – BAHA
“The kids really are enthusiastic in
learning about safety and foods and hopefully we get across.”
And just how safe are the foods that we eat?
Isabel Enfinger,
“We have a bunch of food inspectors and they go into the farms, the processing plants and then we get samples at the labs and we test it out.”
At the Red Cross booth this young boy wanted to know all about first aid.
Merrilie Ellis, First Aid Coordinator - Red Cross
“Today with the amount of gunshots, people being killed, with the amount of car accidents, it is crucial to have first aid as a part of something you know, as general information.”
While the boys and girls listened and answered questions and enjoyed their rewards, the adults who attended the fair took advantage of free sugar and blood pressure checks. Even this forty three year old reporter could not resist making that step towards a better health.
Robert Mariano, Health Fitness Expert
“Right now the scale the tell you that you have fifteen pounds of fat, not weight, fat because not everybody understands when you say fifteen pounds. Because if you start to exercise and gain muscles you will gain weight cause muscle is heavier than fat but if you gain muscle and you lose fat you will just look thinner and look more better. Some people go on diet and just try to lose weight without exercise and once you do that you are left flabby, you are left with your hand the shake all over the place but once you exercise you look a lot better.”
And that wasn’t the only advice being handed out. There were presentations by the Traffic Department, the Belize Humane Society and the City’s Market Department.
Wayne Usher, Councillor of Sanitation
“When people visit our health expo it is not only to get the information but there are practical things that you can do in terms of keeping a healthy lifestyle and taking care of your health, for example diabetes test, the blood pressure test – so you are actually actively getting healthy and a healthier message, apart from the cleanliness is a whole health concept that we are promoting here today.”
