Delay in having sex does not lead to stupidity; Society tells young people
The National President of the Paediatric Society of Ghana (PSG), Dr Eben Badoe, has stressed the need for the strengthening of Inter-School Adolescent clubs to mount sustained education programmes to disabuse the minds of young people that delay in having sex makes one stupid.
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At the Annual General Meeting and Scientific Meeting of the PSG in Kumasi yesterday, Dr Badoe expressed worry at a disturbing phenomenon; he said about 11.8 per cent of female pupils at age 15, unlike their male counterparts, had had sex mostly with older men.
The meeting was on the theme: ‘Adolescents’ health; the good, the bad and the ugly.’
Welfare of adolescents
Dwelling on the welfare of adolescents of ages 10-19, he said since they formed one-fourth of the world’s population who grew to become the world’s future leaders, there was the need for political leaders to support their growth and development to realise their goals.
Dr Badoe indicated that the real determinants of the growth and survival of adolescents into adulthood depended on good nutritional values and living conditions.
He said there was the need to focus attention on their nutritional values, including focusing on traditional foods, to save them from preventable diseases, including hypertension and diabetes.
He expressed regret that about 13 per cent of pupils at the junior high school level in the southern sector of the country were suffering from obesity unlike their counterparts in the northern sector, attributing the variation to eating habits.
Other topics
Other adolescent-related topics discussed included cyber impact on adolescents’ psyche and nutritional disorders in adolescents.
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The PSG also urged the government to invest more in the development of women and children to promote their well-being.
It said that could be achieved by concentrating on their survival and transformation, without which the country’s survival would be in danger.
The Paediatric Society of Ghana is made up of doctors, nurses and other allied health workers whose focus is on the well-being of children and adolescents.