The Ghana Nutrition Association (GNA) has held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Science Auditorium at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). This is the first time their meeting is being held in Kumasi since the establishment of the association. The theme for the event was “Diet, Lifestyle and Prevention of Chronic Diseases”. It was attended by representatives from the University of Ghana (UG), Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), University of Cape Coast (UCC), University of Development Studies (UDS), lecturers and students from KNUST.
Professor Ibok Oduro, Head Departments of Food Science and Technology of KNUST, welcomed the participants and expressed her gratitude to the executives of the association for making the dream of bringing the meeting to Kumasi a reality. Professor Oduro stated that Ghanaians had failed to educate themselves on issues concerning their diet and nutrition and therefore tended to eat the same diet from infancy to old age. She added that it was for this reason that the association had chosen the theme to help create the awareness of our diet, lifestyle and methods to control chronic diseases.
Dr. Anthony K. Edusei, the guest speaker for the occasion, in a presentation, highlighted diets and lifestyles which could help in the prevention and management of chronic diseases. He explained that chronic diseases were prevalent in Ashanti and the Southern part of Ghana as compared to the three Northern regions. This, he emphasised, was as a result of differences in lifestyles and diets. Thus, their meeting aimed at sensitizing all Ghanaians to the effects of malnutrition and chronic diseases.
He also spoke on cardio-vascular diseases which were becoming common in the country and advised all Ghanaians to come together and fight the canker. He explained that activities such as smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, irregular checking of blood pressure, excessive intake of salt and many others were the main causes of cardio-vascular diseases. He therefore urged the participants to cultivate the habit of taking in more fruits and vegetables to help them stay healthier and stronger.
