Bhubaneswar: Food and fitness go together. But these days yummy mouthwatering street delicacies are known to push aside the need and importance of nutritious food.
In a bid to create awareness about this aspect, SUM Ultimate Medicare (SUMUM) here held a day-long food festival to focus on traditional nutritious food. Aptly named ‘Food, Fitness and Fun Festival’, it was organised on Wednesday, a day ahead of World Health Day.
The objective of the festival was to bring into focus the legacy of Odisha’s traditional dishes and their nutritional value.
The event was inaugurated by Prof. Sitikantha Mishra, Advisor cum Dean, School of Hotel Management, SOA’s faculty of hospitality and tourism management, who was welcomed by Dr. Swetapadma Dash, Chief Executive Officer of the hospital. Dr. (Brig) Biraj Mohan Mishra, Chief, Medical Services, heads of departments, consultants and employees were present.
Nine separate counters were set up serving a variety of food including biryani, ghee bhat with chicken and mutton curry, traditional pakhala, baked delicacies, tandoori items, rolls and parathas and a variety of snacks including dosas, dahi vada and chat. A separate counter provided healthy beverages like bel panna, amba panna, lassi, fruit shake, lemon water, fresh fruit juices and buttermilk.
Saroj Sahani, Head of Department, Food and Beverages, Sushree, Lead Clinical Nutritionist and their team coordinated the event. The 12 hour festival indulged the taste buds of the healthy food enthusiasts and attracted a good crowd.
A program ‘Lifestyle for a Healthy Person’ was aimed to instruct people on healthy lifestyle changes. It was intended to create awareness about eating right and doing work outs regularly as avoid to unrealistic diets.
Another program named ‘How Fit Are You?’ laid down eight physical fitness tests to assess the fitness level of an individual. At the same time, exercises with an element of fun were conducted for patients, their attendants and hospital employees under the supervision of Dr. P. Balakishore, Head of department of Physiotherapy and Lead Clinical Nutritionist Ms. Jena.