Over 900 pupils participate in health programme

1 month ago 9

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KUCHING: More than 900 pupils and teachers from Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Petra Jaya participated in the Kembara Bulan Malaysia Sihat Sejahtera (BMSS) @HePiLI Sarawak Zone programme yesterday (Oct 8).

The school became the 15th location of the Kembara BMSS @HePiLI Sarawak Zone. State Education Department (JPNs) Student Affairs Unit (HEM) Student Development Sector assistant director, Hazali Madihi officiated at the event by planting tree saplings in the school Young Doctors Club Garden.

In his speech, he said that based on the 2022 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS), there are several health risk factors that show increasing trends among adolescent students aged between 13 to 17 years.

“Among the health risk factors is the prevalence of physical inactivity, which increased from 50.1 per cent in 2017 to 66.7 per cent in 2022.

“Obesity prevalence increased by 10 per cent from 13.3 per cent in 2017, while the prevalence of overweight also rose by 10 per cent in 2022, reaching 16.2 per cent,” he said.

At the event, Hazali launched the Mobile Truck Wellness On Wheels (WoW), which will continue its journey to the final location – Sarikei Division.

The event also featured interactive exhibitions such as Healthy Eating, See, Smell, and Taste, Dental Health, Know Your Medicine, Say No to Smoking, Healthy Minds, Environmental Cleanliness, Infectious Disease Prevention, Interactive exhibitions by strategic partner agencies, Health screenings, HPV, DNA testing and HPV vaccinations, Coloring competitions, Storytelling competitions and Fitness stations and interactive games by the WoW team, JKNs Health Promotion Branch.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health Malaysia, through the State Health Department (JKN) held a “War On Sugar” programme aimed at combating excessive sugar intake.

This is in response to the rise in overweight and obesity prevalence among Malaysians last year, with a rate of 54.5 per cent compared to 50.1 per cent in 2019.