By MELISSA DASSRATH Sunday, September 19 2010

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Minister of Health Therese Baptiste-Cornelis, second from left, has fun at the workout routine alongside TT cricket captain Daren Ganga, left, and WI ...

The Ministry of Health held a lively 5K walkathon and Wellness Fair, yesterday, at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

The Ministry as well as Nestle, Bmobile and the Cancer Society of Trinidad and Tobago set up information centres. They passed out flyers with tips on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and monitor diseases like hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes. They conducted free blood pressure tests and BMI calculation for participants.

The marathon kicked off at 4:30 pm in the vicinity of Jerningham Avenue and passed through St Clair. When the runners returned it was to a Carnival-like atmosphere in the Queen’s Park Savannah. In a cool-down workout session called Socaerobics entertainers like Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez, Bunji Garlin, Kees Dieffenthaller, Shurwayne Winchester and Patrice Roberts hyped up the crowd while a fitness instructor led an aerobics class. Sportsmen were on stage promoting a healthy lifestyle. TT cricket captain Daren Ganga, WI and TT batsman Adrian Bharat and Richard Kelly actively danced on stage and in the crowd along with Minister of Health Therese Baptiste-Cornelis.

The Minister stated that: “Today is a day that the Ministry of Health wants you to be aware that being healthy is the way we must live. The health of our nation is the wealth of our nation. Together with you, the Ministry of Health and its officials will transform this country into the healthiest country in the Caribbean.”