DATT Hosts First Human Foosball Tournament To Promote Healthy Living
The Diabetes Association of Trinidad and Tobago (DATT) is taking a stand against sugary drinks in sports, using a first-of-its-kind human foosball tournament to raise awareness about the health risks associated with sugar-sweetened beverages.
On Friday, DATT hosted the country’s first-ever Human Foosball Tournament under the theme “Kick Big Soda Out of Sport”.
Its President, Dr Andrew Dhanoo, said the tournament is geared towards raising awareness of the effects of sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods.
“This tournament comes out of a grant that we got from the Bloomberg Foundation out of Vital Strategies, where around the world we’re doing a campaign called ‘Kick Big Soda Out of Sport’, and this is aligned with the FIFA World Cup because the World Cup finals is this weekend, so we’re really aligning with the World Cup, what we’re trying to show is that sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed foods should have no place in sports which are supposed to promote health.”
The initiative received strong support from Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe, who commended the 22 secondary schools that participated in the tournament.
“We know that a big part of the problem in this country is sugar drinks and sugary drinks, and of course that is something that at the Ministry of Health, we try our best to limit. Part of this here is the education. It’s an opportunity for some fellowship amongst the students, but I am hoping that after today’s event that the message that is being announced here today will be carried to the schools as well and to all the nation’s children.”
Dr Bodoe noted that the event complements ongoing efforts by the Ministries of Health and Education to promote healthy eating among students.
“Just recently, the Ministry of Health, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, we would’ve launched a programme where we would’ve introduced a healthy eating initiative in schools. So we have started at the level of the schools in terms of what is served at the cafeteria. We are also looking at the nutritional contents of the school feeding programmes, and of course we are hoping that we will be able to educate parents. Of course we can’t tell parents what to put in the children’s lunch kit, but of course we are hoping that this will spread out to the children.”
The fast-paced game that simulates a football match saw participants’ competitive side come to the fore as they attempted to emerge victorious.
