01 May 2017

A nutritionist in the greater Francistown area, Ms Malebogo Osupile has encouraged different departments to adhere to health and wellness in the workplace.

Speaking  at a wellness day event hosted by the Department of Information Technology (DIT) in Francistown recently, Ms Osupile said wellness day was a team building initiative that helped participants refresh and rejuvenate their minds, while at the same time, bringing colleagues together.

Physical activity, she said was important because it helped in fighting non-communicable diseases such as Cancer, Hypertension, respiratory conditions and Sugar diabetes. 

“We encourage departments to take wellness seriously. Through wellness, we can prevent a lot and save money that the ministry spends on diseases that are preventable and curable,” she said.

The DIT wellness focal person, Ms Lady Keatlholetswe said the department was committed to promoting healthy living, exercising, eating well for their staff.

Therefore, she said they saw it fit to host a wellness day event to achieve their goals.

Ms Keatlholetswe further noted that physical activity stimulated a healthy mind which, could in turn, make staff become more productive in the workplace.

Further, she said DIT intends to have an after-hours gym room for its staff members to encourage healthy living and exercising on a daily basis.

For her part, Ms Elizabeth Mangope, an AIDS coordinator said wellness should be part and parcel of every individual’s daily lives.

She encouraged participants to take care, protect and value their bodies.

Ms Mangope further said wellness included physical, social and mental wellbeing adding that in order to achieve wellness, people should eat healthy, exercise and visit health facilities to test for various diseases and check their wellness status. ENDS