Children have been warned that it is dangerous for them to take lots of soft drinks during the Christmas season.
“It is not only alcoholic beverages that are dangerous; too much soft drinks can harm you,” advised Dr Isabella Sagoe Moses who is the National Child Health Coordinator of the Ghana Health Service.
“If you take too many sweets and you do not take care, by the end of the season, you would have gained so much weight; and when you gain a lot of weight within a short time, it is the most dangerous thing you can do to your body,” she warned.
Dr Sagoe Moses also explained that weight gain could cause children to become diabetics, develop heart diseases and other chronic illnesses.
Christmas, she said, is just a week away and since the period is usually characterised by family gatherings, parties and lots of food and drinks, families need to watch the types of food they would prepare for children.
She advised that food prepared should contain less fat and less salt. She pointed out that chicken, for instance, could be grilled to reduce the intake of fat during the Christmas period.
The National Child Health Coordinator also charged young people not to patronise street foods during the festive season but rather take advantage of the occasion to prepare their own meals because “it is healthier and cheaper to do so.”
Dr Sagoe Moses asked children not to forget about personal hygiene and encouraged them to wash their hands frequently, eat hot foods, keep food covered and heat every food thoroughly before eating, especially now that there are frequent power cuts.
