A Clinical Research Fellow at the Kintampo Health Research Centre, Dr Seyram Kaali, says children must be involved in physical activity for at least 60 minutes in a day to enable them to expend the calories they consume.
He said more play time will help burn calories to reduce overweight and obesity. Dr Kaali said the frequent consumption of processed canned foods and beverages high in sugar and salt with low nutritional value and a lack of physical activity among children are the major causes of overweight and obesity in Ghana.
He called for a food policy that will help to determine standards of the nutritional content of processed foods and canned beverages imported into Ghana.
He said parents must be interested in the Body Mass Index of their children, monitor their weight and reduce fatty food in the diets of their children.
How a child is fed in the first year of life may contribute to obesity in later years, if not done right.
He therefore encouraged new mothers to breastfeed their children exclusively in the first six months of their lives and be mindful of the types of foods they feed them with.