Engaging in sporting activities can deal with 50% of diseases in Ghana – Expert

The Head of Physical Education at Presbyterian Boys Secondary School (PRESEC-Legon), Nathaniel M Botwe has said about 50% of the diseases reported to hospitals in Ghana are due to of exercise.

According to the Physical Education instructor “About half of the diseases we spend money treating or managing can be avoided if the government makes the right investment into sports to get Ghanaians motivated to be sportive right from childhood.”

Nathaniel Botwe is worried that people refuse to be active in sports when they are young and wait till they are aging before they realize the need for sports or even manage their weight.

He also identified advancement in technology and inventions such as; lifts, automatic vehicles, mobile phones, and remote controls, as well as a sedentary lifestyle as some of the reasons there are so many lifestyle and cardiovascular diseases in the country. According to him these have reduced the level of physical activities in our daily lives.

Living an active life right from childhood through to adulthood will reduce the visits to the hospital, experts say.

He stressed the need to stay fit in order to be able to contribute to life, since without physical fitness, there can’t be the realization of potential. Sports and physical activities are supposed to be part of being human.

“As a teacher in the secondary school, it is easy for me to distinguish between first year students from private schools and those from public schools per the activity I give them. He told Alfred Ocansey on 3FM Sunrise Morning Show.

He further explained that most of the private schools do not have enough space for sporting or extracurricular activities. Thus; the available land is used to put up more classrooms.

“The kind of investment that has been made in sports even at the basic level in Ghana is inadequate given the kind of benefits that can be derived from sports. We need to have commitment and be deliberate about developing facilities to enhance and promote sports in Ghana”, Nathaniel Botwe admonishes.