The people with obesity face serious problems and obesity has become a major public health issue but the people especially the sports persons who used to do regular exercise and physical exertion managed to get rid of negative effects of being overweight; these views were expressed by sports and health experts while addressing a seminar held on the eve of World Obesity Day at SBP E-Library and Youth Centre on Monday.
Director Sports Yasmeen Akhtar and Olympian Khawaja Junaid were the guests of honour at a seminar organized under the banner of Youth Affairs and Sports Department Punjab.
Apart from them, Director Youth Affairs Rana Nadeem Anjum, former Mr Pakistan Assistant Prof Usman Umer, US education expert Adeela Bhatti and physiotherapist Raees Babar were also present at the seminar organized under the directions of Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail.
Besides them, players of Khawaja Junaid and Rana Zaheer hockey academies, club players from Quetta, several key sports personalities and a large number of male and female students from different colleges and universities also attended the important seminar.
Director Youth Affairs Rana Nadeem Anjum, Olympian Khawaja Junaid, former Mr Pakistan Assistant Prof Usman Umer who represented the country in several top bodybuilding competitions, US sports expert Adeela Bhatti and physiotherapist Raees Babar addressed the seminar. Ms Shazia of SBP E-Library also presented a documentary to highlight the damages of obesity.
Addressing the seminar, the speakers highlighted the negative effects of obesity especially for a sports figure.
Director Youth Affairs Rana Nadeem Anjum said that sports played a key role in saving athletes from different kinds of diseases. “Our youth must come out of their comfort zone and involve themselves in regular exercise and physical exertion. Being overweight is not a fault; most of the health issues emerge when someone gets sluggish and develops a habit of overeating”.
Olympian Khawaja Junaid said that obesity is the enemy of health. It causes high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, high cholesterol and cancer. “It is ideal for a sports person to focus on his/her diet and regular exercise so that they can save themselves from negativities of being overweight”.
Former Mr Pakistan Assistant Prof Usman Umer said that one can get rid of obesity by doing exercise regularly. “It is a major factor that a healthy body produces a healthy brain”.