Green TT Walking Club launched

The Green Party of Trinidad and Tobago (GPTT) has launched the Green TT Walking Club (GTTWC), giving participants a chance to win 100 free Lotto tickets every quarter.

In a media release, Prof Ewart Skinner, GPTT deputy political leader, said, “Our people need to get out and exercise more if we want to decrease deaths due to heart disease and diabetes, plus have better mental health.”

Skinner, originally from Arouca, is an associate professor of communication in the US and teaches and publishes on global communication, national development communication, health communication, Caribbean communication, and media theory. He was the founding editor of the Tobago News, the release said.

He said about 80 per cent of annual deaths in Trinidad and Tobago are due to preventable non-communicable diseases.

“According to data from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), most of those deaths are due to heart disease and diabetes, and daily exercise can make a dramatic difference to reducing these deaths,” the release said.

The project director for the Green TT Walking Club (GTTWC), Ian Gill, drew attention to the global WHO recommendation calling for individuals to walk at least 30 minutes per day, five days per week, to decrease the incidence of heart disease and diabetes. “And the 30-minute activity does not have to be one full stretch of 30 minutes; it could be two 15-minute sessions; or three ten-minute sessions.”

He explained that any member of the Green TT Walking Club doing a three-week round of walking five days per week, accumulating 30 minutes per day, stands a chance of winning 100 free Lotto tickets every quarter.

Skinner also stressed that one of the benefits of walking include better mental health.

“The research is quite amazing about the health benefits from exercise, and it is just as amazing for mental health benefits. It wards off depression. It makes life’s troubles less burdensome. It brings a dose of calm to the spirits.

“And the more you walk, the better your health, physical and mental,” Skinner said.

For more info and to sign up visit Facebook or e-mail greenttwalkingclub@gmail.com