Football, basketball make them healthy

Though kids who play interactive video games that make them sweat and pant may be better than their counterparts who remain glued to computer and TV screens, indoor games are still not a replacement for real exercise, a leading cardiologist has said. “Interactive games may be better than the conventional games but nothing can replace boys playing football and girls playing basketball outdoors so that they can stay healthy,” said Dr Nooshin Bazargani, Cardiologist at Dubai Hospital and Board member of the World Heart Federation. “They are still exhausting their minds and eyes by looking at screens,” she said. Unhealthy lifestyles that lead to cardiovascular disease (CVD) often begin in childhood and adolescence. She was speaking on the sidelines of an event where over 500 students gathered at Zabeel Park on Tuesday to create the world’s largest eco-friendly heart that symbolises health and encourages people to lead a healthy lifestyle. The event was organised by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the World Heart Federation and the Emirates Cardiac Society, along with AstraZeneca Gulf, ahead of the runup to the World Congress of Cardiology in Dubai in April. As part of the awareness event, students from Al Mawakeb school placed balled up pieces of  environment-friendly, biodegradable paper onto a 5x5 metres heart-shaped base in a competition that involved prizes for the winning teams. Over the course of two more events, different students will be involved with further filling up the heart that will be completed and ready for display at the congress in April. “It is a known fact that 80 per cent of CVD are preventable through lifestyle modification. Yet, 17.1 million people die of heart attacks in the world yearly, said Dr Fahad Baslaib, Head of Cardiology at Rashid Hospital and Chairman of the Emirates Cardiac Society. “This figure is alarming and shows us the magnitude of the problem. There is an urgent need for global advocacy and sustained awareness initiatives to encourage lifestyle modification which is key to preventing CVDs.” It is also important to teach children to eat nutritious and healthy foods, and stay active and play sports. Dr Bazargani seconded this opinion and said, “As part of this heart health awareness initiative, we want to educate children to eat healthy food by trying to get at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day and avoid foods high in saturated fat, such as eating fast-food. Parents should avoid feeding their children processed foods, which often contain high levels of salt. Children should be active for at least 30 minutes every day, and should play sports, when and if possible.”