Govt: to start dialogue on lifestyle change

2 October 2015 02:52 pm

The government will soon start a dialogue to change people's lifestyles which might include changing school hours, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday.

Speaking during the annual academic sessions of Endocrine Society of Sri Lanka, he said a national dialogue on changing the lifestyle of the people was essential to prevent diseases such as diabetes which he pointed out was spreading rapidly in Sri Lanka.

"The spread of the disease among the schoolchildren is becoming a great worry," the Prime Minister said.

He said some have suggested that changing of school hours was necessary to change the lifestyle of schoolchildren to prevent diseases such as diabetes.

The Prime Minister asked whether changing school hours was enough to change the situation. He said one needs to keep a watch on the growing urbanization which changes lifestyles.

“Urbanization has made people go to fast food outlets instead of eating a wholesome meal cooked at home like the way we did during out school days and this situation too should be noted," he said and added that a public dialogue was necessary to address all these issues before coming up with solutions. (YP)