Continuing its efforts to create awareness among children and underscore the importance of healthy eating and exercise, the Rotary Club of Antigua (RCA) has launched its Childhood Obesity Prevention Skipping Programme in select primary and secondary schools.
According to a release, the participating schools are Five Islands Primary, Golden Grove Primary, Sea View Farm Primary, Greenbay Primary, New Winthorpes Primary, and Irene B Williams Secondary.
The schools have received donations of skipping ropes to be incorporated into their Physical Education classes.
The programme is part of the District 7030 Childhood Obesity Prevention Project which was launched three years ago.
Studies have suggested that in comparison to the rest of the world, obesity is two to three times more prevalent in Caribbean children and there is also a high prevalence of hypertension in obese children in the Caribbean.
It is against this backdrop that the Rotary Club of Antigua has embarked on this initiative.