THE soft-spoken cardiologist didn’t need to raise his voice to silence the roomful of runners.
“Even children, especially those with risk factors, already had fatty deposits in their arteries,” Dr. Alex Junia said. The cardiologist had cited a study of children and teens who died in vehicular accidents to dispel conventional wisdom that kids can “eat anything” because they’re still young. In that study in the United States, they found fatty deposits in kids as young as two years old.
DR. ALEX JUNIA (center) with fellow Ungo Runners at the IT Park after his talk. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE.“Let’s concentrate on letting them have a healthy lifestyle. Let’s take them in our runs,” he said.
Junia, who started hitting the tracks in 1998 to deal with the stress of being a second year resident in internal medicine in Cebu Velez General Hospital, said running is the cheapest way to get fit and to minimize the risk factors of developing heart diseases.
“After completing my hospital tasks for the day, I’d walk to Cebu City Sports Center. I’d then walk the oval for a few minutes. This activity relieved me of a lot of
stress. My regular walks then gradually increased in duration and speed,” said Junia.
