Yet again, this newspaper feels compelled to applaud Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton for his efforts to get Jamaicans more attuned to fitness and proper diet for improved health.

At a recent National School Moves Day at Manchester High School in Mandeville, Dr Tufton urged adults to ensure children get involved in healthy outdoor physical activity and spend less time on smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and related gadgets.

He told children from various schools assembled at Manchester High School grounds that they should exercise outdoors to “get your blood flowing and your heart pumping so that you get a healthier lifestyle and living…”

Twinned to increased outdoor activity for children, the health minister wants avoidance of unhealthy “ultra-processed snacks” with “greasy, salty, sugary, fatty” ingredients.

Unhealthy snacking does seem to complement screen addiction.

Down the years, Dr Tufton has been at pains to emphasise that the growing tendency by Jamaicans to forego physical exercise and proper diet is triggering an alarming surge in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, strokes, heart attacks, et al.

Ultimately it’s a burden for all of us, since estimates suggest NCDs cost billions of Jamaican dollars annually for public and private sector medical bills, pharmaceuticals, and lost production time.

At Manchester High, his old school, Dr Tufton painted an idyllic picture of decades ago in his youth.

“When I was growing up, I used to build a hut in the bush with my friends and my cousins. Summertime was good. We used to go to the hills. We used to play ‘stuck in the middle’. We used to play six-a-side football. We used to build our own cricket bat and our own wickets [stumps] …We had fun in the sun. We need to get back to basics,” said the health minister.

The harsh truth, though, is that getting back to basics is far easier said than done.

To begin with, the exciting communication/knowledge technologies that keep people — not just the very young — glued to digital screens did not exist decades ago.

Also — especially because of rapid urbanisation — open spaces, including State-owned, designated playing fields and recreation grounds, are not as accessible for those wanting to exercise and play as used to be the case.

It’s an unfortunate fact that, in communities without organised leadership, designated open spaces are often being taken over for small, informal businesses, farming, car parks, and so forth. Far too often the authorities simply turn a blind eye.

Also, many of our fast-growing rural towns are without a park with trees, grass, and seating to encourage relaxation, or even modest space for physical exercise.

In some areas “the bush” referred to by Dr Tufton has become out of bounds because of fears about crime.

Sadly, too, numerous schools are bereft of adequate space for students to play.

It seems to us that it is full time for ‘joined up’ government to proactively attend to these issues and take corrective action.

Clearly, making outdoor recreational spaces readily available is not a hot-button item for most Jamaicans and their political representatives. But if our leaders are serious about improving health and wellness for the population they need to act accordingly.