In Professor Reginald Ocansey’s office at the Narh-Bita School of Exercise Medicine, Sports and Wellness in Tema are wall posters proclaiming messages which take the concept of medicine beyond the popping of pills and drinking of modern pharmaceutical concoctions to simple lifestyle practices that enhance health and fitness at little cost:

The posters proclaim that “fruits are medicine”, “water is medicine”, “rest is medicine”, “vegetables are medicine”, and “exercise is medicine.” Incorporate all five in your diet and lifestyle and you will most likely never need to pop pills.

At the launch of various activities to mark World Exercise is Medicine {EIM}Month at the school last week, Professor Ocansey noted that while the messages regarding a healthy diet and sufficient rest are clear enough, the message about regular physical exercise is somewhat problematic:

A key concern is that while a large section of the population has become more conscious of the benefits of physical exercise in preventing and managing cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases, many people are engaging in physical exercise without prior health screening and physical strength assessment, a development that has seen an increase in fatalities during sports and fitness activities.

Participants at the workshop were therefore introduced to “Cardiothoracic Sports” which highlights proper physical strength training and cardiovascular conditioning of the individual as critical prerequisites for safe and beneficial physical exercise.

The participants included sports club doctors, physiotherapists/masseurs, keep fit instructors, gymnasium supervisors, physical education/physical activity teachers, sports masters/mistresses, sports coaches and physical training instructors.

The practitioners were taken through fitness programming, nutrition and wellness, kinetics, the science and prescription of physical exercise, first aid, care and prevention of injuries and endophine massage.

The participants who were issued with a Clinical Exercise Practitioners Level One certificate at the end of the May 4 workshop will obtain a Level Two certificate after going through a second workshop scheduled for May 11. The Clinical Exercise Practitioners Level Three certificate will be issued to the fitness practitioners at the end of a workshop scheduled for June 6-8.

An aerobic fitness day for the general public was also held at New Ningo near Prampram under the auspices of the Ghana Physical Education and Sport Think Tank and the Narh-Bita School of Exercise Medicine, Sports and Wellness to mark World Exercise is Medicine Month.

A theme for all the activities held to mark the month in Ghana remained the need for appropriate interventions to minimize sudden death from sports and physical exercise.

“An increasing number of people are dying or collapsing during physical exercise and sports because they did not go through the necessary strength and cardiovascular screening and assessment that should precede physical exercise”, the Medical Director of the Narh-Bita Hospital Dr. Edward Narh explained at the launch of Exercise is Medicine Month.

Dr. Narh says it is wrong for an individual to jump onto the bandwagon of the emerging fitness craze and begin to exercise, sometimes too vigorously, without first undergoing some screening and exercise prescription. The result can be fatal for people suffering from hypertension, diabetes and other medical conditions, he warned.

A major challenge has been the shortage of trained and duly certified fitness trainers and instructors to guide the public in physical exercise and fitness training.

NASFAAG, the umbrella body for all sports associations in Ghana, which has oversight responsibility for all fitness programmes in the country and the Ministry of Health, are working with the Narh-Bita School of Exercise Medicine, Sports and wellness to fill the void.

Regular courses have been off to a slow start since the formal opening of the school last year. The school, Professor Ocansey says, is therefore in the short term focusing on regular seminars and workshops for the training and certification of qualified instructors to manage fitness training programmes for public keep fit clubs, gymnasiums and sports clubs.

The veteran physical education expert wants greater national recognition of the importance of the role the school is playing in spearheading the creation of a healthier national population through fitness training and healthier lifestyles.

He says since a healthy working population will increase productivity at workplaces and contribute more meaningfully to national economic growth, corporate bodies and the Ministry of Youth and Sports need to support the programmes by the school and its collaborators to train fitness instructors.

Corporate organizations and public institutions will be contributing to the health and fitness of their work force and the promotion of a healthy national population, by organizing periodic fitness sessions for their staff under the supervision and management of the School of Exercise Medicine, Sports and Wellness, Professor Ocansy points out.

Exercise and fitness practitioners trained by the school in its short and long term courses and workshops are equipped with the skills to screen the general public for levels of fitness, undertake exercise behaviour analysis independently and be able to prescribe appropriate doses of exercise for individuals.

The school which is one of the departments of the Narh Bita College of Nursing is the first educational institution of its kind in Africa.

Its long term mission is to train health and fitness professionals who will administer appropriate dosages of physical exercise for the treatment, prevention and management of diseases in Ghana.

The school’s curriculum covers eight programmes of study. They include the Sports Coaching Certificate Programme, the Fitness Trainers Certificate Programme, the Regenerative Health and Nutrition Certificate programme and the Sports Injuries and Rehabilitation Certificate Programme.

The other programmes are the Active Lifestyles and Wellness Programme, the Sports Psychology Certificate Programme, the Sports Administration Certificate Programme and the Sports Refereeing Certificate Programme.