LISTEN: Health advice for Alex footballers
ALEXANDRA - "Our eating habits are the ones that makes us who we are, a healthy lifestyle may help reduce football players' risk of cognitive problems later in life," said Dr Richard Lebethe from the Gauteng Department of Health.
Dr Richard Lebethe of the Gauteng Department of Health who was born in Alexandra, addressed aspiring footballers and coaches on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
He was speaking at a coaching clinic held by Italian football giants, AS Roma which was held at No 3 Square Grounds, Alexandra. AS Roma came to South Africa as part of a feasibility study team for a proposed football academy.
The academy will be launched later this year once a venue to host it has been finalised. AS Roma will also teach local footballers how to live a healthy lifestyle as part of the coaching clinics.
Fabio Genovesi, a legend of AS Roma and a member of the technical staff conducting coaching clinics said, “A healthy lifestyle goes a long way in a footballer’s career. If you look at players like Francisco Totti, they have been playing for a very long time and eating the right food goes with it.”
Lebethe concurred with Genovesi. “We all know that old habits die hard, healthy eating and cleanliness will take us along way in life,” he said. “The healthiest of food is the cheapest of food. We must minimise our intake of salt and increase our vegetables.”
According to Lebethe, our eating habits make us who we are, and a healthy lifestyle may help reduce football players’ risk of cognitive problems later on in life. Many footballers endure long-term injuries which threaten to destroy their careers, and eating healthily can play a huge part in the recovery of players’ injuries.
LISTEN: Dr Lebethe speaks to Alex footballers on a healthy lifestyle:
https://soundcloud.com/user528046609/doctor-lebethe
“If you look at the Italian guys, they eat a lot more than we do, the only difference is that they eat the correct type of foods, ” said Lebethe. “Let’s learn good habits, and if good habits die hard let it be these ones.”
