The Students of the Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics of University of Cape Coast have held a debate as part of activities commemorating the week celebration of the Nutrition and Dietetics Students’ Association (NADSA).

 The competition, sponsored by Philo Ventures, a small-scale business owned by a student-entrepreneur at the Department, was to seek ideas from students and also help them put to practice, theories learnt in class.

 The contest which was on the topic, “Health at Every Size,” had two groups codenamed Team ‘A’ and ‘B’ arguing for and against the motion after which a panel of judges awarded marks.

A section of students at the debate

The criteria used by the judges, led by Mr. Safiano Osman, a Teaching Assistant at the Department, were deep knowledge in the topic, clarity of points, confidence, eloquence, ability to rebut points from opponents and relevance of the points articulated.

Miss. Nana Adjoa Sarkwa, masters Kenneth Aninhyira-Fosu, Ethornam Zokah,  the Principal Speaker, First Supporting Speaker, Second Principal Speaker, respectively for Team A, argued for the motion.

They were of the view that people who are overweight or obese could still maintain their health. In that vein, they argued that some people were genetically fat, but they were healthier as a result of their adoption of healthy eating habits.

The contestants from Team ‘B’

Contestants from Team ‘B’, represented by Revista Obiri Acheampong ,  Philomena Amoesi, Esi Brago Mensah and Wallace Newton, who held a contrary view, contended that overweight and obesity had become a serious public concern worldwide, contributing significantly to the development of several chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart diseases, diabetes and some cancers, among others.

Team ‘A’, winners of the debate receiving an award from a Senior Lecturer at the Department, Dr. Nana Ama Frimpomaa Agyapong

To them, their opponents should discard the notion, "health at every size", because it made overweight and obese people to turn a blind eye to complications associated with obesity and overweight.

At the end of the competition, Team ‘A’ bagged 82 points to come first after putting up a feisty performance against Team B which had 76 points. 

Debating Clubs to Boost Confidence

A Senior Lecturer at the Department, Dr. Nana Ama Frimpomaa Agyapong, congratulated the two competing teams  on their hard work.

She intimated that the success of the debate was evident that the students had a lot to offer the nation in terms of ideas on the nutrition action drive of the country. 

Dr.  Agyapong advised students to make good use of debating clubs in the University of Cape Coast to help boost their confidence.

In a short remark, the Public Relations Officer of NADSA, Miss Gloria Anoumou, thanked the participants for turning up for the event.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC