The South Castries Youth and Sports Council (SCYSC) in collaboration with the St. Lucia Diabetes and Hypertension Association (SLDHA) will launch a community fitness initiative dubbed, “Too Fit to Quit”, on April 7th 2019 at 7:30 am.
The Council will rally the communities of Barre Denis, Odsan and Cul de Sac on the grounds of the Odsan Playing Field for the launch of its first initiative, a weekly “Body Blast’ exercise routine. This programme will continue for a period of 12 weeks where participants will undergo observation from the SLDHA. SLDHA President, Andrew Felix, will conduct the launch session followed by a series of well-trained instructors every week.
“Diabetes is one of the greatest threats to a prosperous Caribbean. If we do not win the fight against diabetes, our healthcare sector will be grossly burdened and our population will decline at an unhealthy rate, thus placing added pressures on our labour force and consequently our economy. We must take this fight seriously!” said President of the Council, Robert Rene. “Our Council is interested in practical solutions hence the reason why we will facilitate community exercises, eliminating some of the normal excuses such as thecost of the gym and location.
“We are determined to win the war on diabetes starting today and it is quite fitting that today is the National American Diabetes Association Alert Day,” he added.
The Council and the SLDHA have been in discussions from late 2018 and believe the time has come to take action especially in light of the information recently published by the Business Insider, naming Saint Lucia the second ‘most unhealthy’ country out of 151 countries. The main objectives of “Too Fit To Quit”, is to ensure that communities have an avenue to combat not just diabetes but other diseases and to build greater awareness about the effects of inactivity. The exercise sessions are open to everyone above 15 years old with a contributory cost of $5.00 per person.