Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
I can’t help but remember one of the many days I’d hit the gym. I had a KFC promo pamphlet in my pocket, and the glossy piece of paper slipped out as I braced myself for yet another sit-up.
The incongruity of it all might’ve brought out a few chortles from my gym mates, but Nandana Dissanayake wore a rueful smile on his face instead. The veteran gym trainer has seen many people frequent the Al Falaj Hotel gym of which he is trainer in search of a better life, but is extremely concerned about the easy access and prevalence of junk food in the diets of children today.
“The media is developed now. Everywhere you look, you see offers for fast food that you can get access to very easily,” he said. “Parents are aware of this, but they have to also know what is there in these foods. The reality is that children today are addicted to junk food.
“This is why I will never keep any sweets at home,” he added. “I may want to eat some, but I will never keep a big bag of sweets at home,” he said. “We do need to keep something at home, but that has to be in limitation.”
Nandana also advised parents to not give their children money without first asking them what it is for: Children might have a tendency to use it for the wrong reasons. “Don’t give money to children,” said Nandana, who has more than 15 years of experience in the fitness world. “If you give money to them, you should know where exactly they’ve used it.”
The right eating habits in children, added Nandana, must also be inculcated at a very young age. He says that parents and teachers have a responsibility to tell children to do the right things so that it strikes a chord with them.
“A mother might tell her children to eat the right things ten times, school teachers will repeat the same things over and over again, but this is for the good of the next generation, he explained. “We can reduce the consumption of junk food, but we need to be aware. Parents were previously aware of what their children were eating because they knew exactly how much exactly to eat.
“They were raised a certain way, and they knew the importance of giving children things such as fruits,” he adds. “But now, with advertising targeted towards children and both parents working, there is easy access to a lot of junk food and children only want food that tastes good.
On the plus side, though, the younger you are, the easier it is to burn calories. “Children can burn calories very easily, so it’s very important to involve them in physical activities,” said Nandana. “We can tell them to burn calories at school by getting them involved in any game that they like.
“Because of the lifestyle of parents, they don’t have much time to spend with children, and they encourage children to join the gym,” he added. “Children who are aged about 13 or 14 years, may not be able to access the entire gym, because their bones aren’t fully developed. “But if you are able to join a gym, it’s very beneficial to do cardiovascular exercises, especially, to enjoy the atmosphere, the swimming pool, and the other games,” said Nandana. “A lot of younger people are now signing up for gyms. There is a certain pattern we can identify these days, with younger people turning up at the gym.
“They are signing up with us, and that’s a good thing, because they’re eager to learn and improve their lives, but mostly, they don’t know exactly where to start, where to stop,” he said.“That advice must be taken from the proper trainer, and we’re on hand to help them do that.
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