World Heart Day-Healthy Heart Award launched at national conference |24 September 2005

The Healthy Heart Award was launched at a half-day national conference on cardiovascular diseases, organised to mark this year's World Heart Day, on September 25.

The World Heart Day is being celebrated under the theme "Healthy Shape, Healthy Heart," with emphasis being put on the epidemic of obesity, one of the leading causes of cardiovascular diseases.

The theme for the national conference, which attracted a very large number of participants to the International Conference Centre (ICCS), focused on "the prevention of cardiovascular disease in Seychelles, a challenge for all."

At the launching of the activity, Minister Vincent Meriton of Health and Social Services said cardiovascular diseases like high-blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, were known to be preventable diseases, yet they are the number one cause of death in Seychelles.

Expressing concern that an increasing number of children today were becoming too fat and growing up with bad eating habits, Minister Meriton stressed that a broader prevention strategy should be adopted to target the younger generation, encouraging children from an early age to understand the benefits of a healthy diet and of exercising.

In line with that, he said the Department was working on a Nutrition Policy that will target schools and sensitise both children and parents. The document is being finalised.

While calling on adults to lead by example and adopt healthy lifestyles by eating less fatty food and to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables as well as to get involved in fitness activities, Minister Meriton said there should be measures in place to facilitate these.

"We must ensure that concerted and effective actions are taken, for example we should watch out for the kind of food and oil that we import, set up as much fitness trails as possible in areas accessible to public, promote healthy lifestyle in the community and introduce the necessary regulations against tobacco," he explained. 

Friday's conference was very lively and interactive, and was marked by presentations and discussions on risk factors in children, nutrition factors, how to interpret screening results and to calculate your risks and an overview of past, present and future strategies taken to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.

The results of the Seychelles Heart Survey done last year highlighting risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and strategies to combat the epidemic were also presented.

The audience also had the opportunity to listen to the testimonies of Robert Ahweng and Emmanuel D'Offay, two victims who had suffered and recovered from heart attacks.

Putting words into actions, a short stretching exercise with music was performed to keep the audience' heart pumping.

Participants had the chance to get their blood pressure tested at the various screening stations set up at the entrance hall of the ICCS.