The Federal Government has been called upon to put the right policies in place to help the citizens benefit from regular exercises and to reduce the incidences of non-communicable diseases.
According to an Intern physiotherapist with the National Hospital, Abuja, Timothy Ishaku,, "a healthy city is an active city. September 8 every year marks World Physiotherapy Day. This year, the profession moves to enlighten the general public with a topic- Fit for the future with regular physical activity. This is good because we can through the programme prevent sudden the death syndrome as a result of non communicable diseases.
"According to World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 35 million people died of non-communicable diseases such as stroke, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, sudden death etc in 2005. This represented 60 per cent of all deaths worldwide. 80 per cent of these deaths occur in low and middle income countries and all these are attributed to physical inactivity or lack of regular exercise of which each year at least 1.9 million people die as a result of that.
"Physiotherapists work with a wide range of people to optimise their physical activity, from elite athletes to older people seeking to remain active as they age. More than any other profession, they prevent chronic disease by helping people become more active. The health benefits of physical activity include primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, specific cancers, in particular breast and colon cancer and osteoporosis.
"Physical activities do not only prevent disease conditions but also affect our life such as sleeping, mental health as well as help us to age gracefully. The effects of aging, unfortunately begin in our 30s and our ability to fight off diseases appear to be inextricably linked to our levels of physical activity and fitness of which recent findings suggest that exercises can increase active life expectancy by limiting the development and progression of chronic diseases and disabling conditions."
