Mohlakeng’s elderly in good health?
During National Nutrition and Obesity Week (9 to 19 October), local dietitians felt the need to reach out to the community to create awareness for these issues, aiming to prevent risk factors that lead to obesity.
On Friday, 19 October the focus was on the eating habits of the elderly community members of Mohlakeng.
During National Nutrition and Obesity Week (9 to 19 October), local dietitians felt the need to reach out to the community to create awareness for these issues, aiming to prevent risk factors that lead to obesity. They hosted an event for the elderly at the Mohlakeng Patrick Ace Ntsoelengoe stadium (Mohlakeng stadium) from 8am until 2pm.
Charmaine Raseroka, a dietitian working for the Department of Health, said that she has found that most people, young and old, indulge more and more in fast foods.
“As a result of this type of food consumption, we also see more patients that are over-nourished and many who are suffering from non-communicable diseases like diabetes mellitus and hypertension,” she said.
“During the past two weeks, we went to local high schools where we did nutritional screening and educated the learners on healthy eating. During the big closing event, we focused on the elderly.”
During this event, they hosted an exciting 5km fun run and the elderly took part in aerobic exercises before they had the chance to screen their health and have a snack.
Mohau Home Based Care did HIV testing and tested for blood pressure and sugar levels during the event and local dietitians calculated community members’ BMIs, giving them appropriate dieting tips.
Kwena Makgoe, Sports Promotion Officer of the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, said that the aim of the event was to promote a healthy lifestyle and focus on nutrition. “Exercise and healthy eating habits go hand in hand,” he said.
Albany Randfontein was also present during the event. Edwin Nemaangani advised the community on how much of which type of bread they should eat daily to stay healthy.
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