NCDs on the rise among school children

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

'Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are on the rise among school children in Sri Lanka. One in every 10 Sri Lankans suffer from diabetes. All these problems are due to the unhealthy food habits of the people,' Health Deputy Minister Lalith Dissanayake said.

He was addressing the gathering at a free spectacles distribution ceremony held at the Sri Lank Foundation Institute (SLFI), Colombo yesterday. Deputy Minister Dissanayake said that a lot of people die in Sri Lanka from NCDs, such as, heart disease, cancer and diabetes and not from dengue. Children should practise good health habits, such as, brushing teeth twice a day, eating healthy food on time and involving in sports activities.

The deputy minister pointed out that cultivating kindness and caring nature in a human being is very important because it improves human health.

"Losing human qualities cause problems in people and thefirst victims of losing human qualities are the same persons who lose them. Learning and practicing aesthetic subjects are good for the mind and body. Such subjects bring out thereal human being in every student," he said.

Health Ministry additional secretary Dr. Palitha Mahipala also spoke. Free spectacles were distributed among 400 school children under the Vision 2020 programme. The programme has provided free spectacles to around15,000 school children during the past two years.