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The National, Monday 3rd June 2013
WE hope that with the different activities around the country marking World No Tobacco Day on Friday, people will really start thinking about their lifestyle. Lifestyle diseases are associated with tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, lack of physical exercise and consuming food and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar.
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UNTIL the 1970s, lifestyle diseases were not a public health problem in PNG. But there has been a rapid increase in these diseases since then, particularly among the urban and peri-urban populations.
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FATTY and salt-heavy diets lead to hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases as well as heart attacks. Heavy smoking also increases the risks significantly.
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HEALTH statistics show that a growing number of elite Papua New Guineans are dying aged between 50 and 60 years when they are in their prime, the country losing the skills and experience each had acquired in the past 30 to 40 years.
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SEVERAL years ago, it was announced that the Government was working on regulating the import of high-fat food products including lamb flaps. Many argued that lamb flaps were affordable to the majority of the people because of socio-economic conditions.
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HEALTH experts point out that there is nothing healthy in lamb flaps. It contains 95% fat and 5% protein, yet it is available almost everywhere, on roadside markets, on lunch and dinner tables and in kai bars throughout the country. It is a case of compromising health for cheap protein.
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WONDER what has become of that proposed bill or motion to ban lamb flaps? The health minister has been advocating for a healthy workforce so maybe this would be a good time to bring out a law to regulate the import of high fat food products.
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THE National Capital District Commission should do more work on improving the physical look of the roundabout at Gerehu. It is an eyesore. The best is to redesign the whole place. Start with chopping down the trees for a neater look. This would give the water fountain a chance to stand out. With the installation of the lights at the roundabout, those who drive past everyday hope to see some improvement in terms of maintaining it right through to Christmas.
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DID you know that PNG has a seismological monitoring agency, the Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory (PMGO), which was established in 1957? It conducts surveillance of earthquakes and tsunamis of local origin and those generated outside the PNG region. Just wondering out aloud, how much funding does the observatory gets from the Government to carry out its functions effectively?