By Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Accra, May 04, GNA – Public health experts and officials have called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to prioritise the creation of parks, safe walkways and recreational spaces to encourage physical activity.
This, according to the experts is a key strategy to curb rising levels of overweight and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Ghana.
The call was made at a health and wellness engagement organised by iThrive Ghana, a multi-sectoral network promoting healthy lifestyles through physical activity and improved nutrition.
Professor Richmond Aryeetey, Convenor of iThrive Ghana and a Professor at the University of Ghana School of Public Health, said Ghana was facing a silent epidemic of obesity driven largely by unhealthy food environments and limited opportunities for physical activity in communities.
“People are not overweight simply because they choose to be unhealthy. The food environment makes unhealthy foods cheap, available and heavily advertised, while healthy options are often expensive and inaccessible,” he said.
Professor Aryeetey noted that urban planning challenges were also discouraging movement, adding that many neighbourhoods lacked walkways and safe open spaces for exercise despite existing planning regulations.
“Simple activities such as walking are difficult because we are not building walkable communities. Local assemblies must enforce planning regulations that provide space between buildings and roads to allow people to walk safely,” he said.
He stressed that health should not be limited to hospitals but seen as a product of where people live, work and raise their families.
“Health is determined in our homes and communities. If we create enabling environments with parks, playgrounds and safe spaces, people will naturally want to move more and live healthier lives.” Professor Aryeetey added.
He expressed concern about the absence of free, accessible playgrounds in many urban areas, noting that safety concerns and lack of infrastructure had discouraged parents from allowing children to play outdoors.
“When you go to many other countries, public playgrounds and parks are the norm. Here, parents are afraid to let their children play outside because the environment does not feel safe,” he said.
Dr Olivia Timpo, Deputy Director of Nutrition at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), reiterated the importance of preventive approaches to health, noting that unhealthy lifestyles were contributing to the growing burden of NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.
She said the GHS was supporting iThrive Ghana because of its focus on promoting healthy diets and physical activity across the life course.
“Through our Diet and Healthy Lifestyles Programme, we are educating school-age children on healthy eating, regular exercise and personal hygiene to improve both health and educational outcomes,” she said.
Dr Timpo cited findings from the Global Nutrition Report, indicating that obesity among adolescents were increasing, with about one per cent of boys and three per cent of girls aged 15 to 19 classified as obese.
“At the same time, some boys are becoming too thin for their age. This shows the double burden of malnutrition we face as a country. We need coordinated action to ensure a healthy and productive population,” she said.
She warned that failure to address lifestyle-related risk factors would lead to higher health care costs and reduced national productivity.
“If we do not act now, NCDs will increase, health budgets will overstretch and we will lose productivity as a nation,” she said.
Dr Kassim Abdullahi, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Cape Coast, identified obesity as a major underlying risk factor for most NCDs in Ghana.
“Weight gain occurs when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. To reverse this trend, people must either eat better or become more active – ideally both,” he said.
Dr Abdullahi said iThrive Ghana’s emphasis on physical activity and healthy eating was therefore timely and necessary, adding that community engagement and regular education were key to sustaining behaviour change.
He, however, mentioned resource constraints as a challenge to expanding the movement, particularly in supporting transportation and mobilisation of participants from the various communities.
GNA
04 May 2026
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong