The goal, he maintained, is to ensure that Barbadians are able to make informed decisions about what they consume. As such, he said any educational campaign must be aimed at making them aware of the risks of adverse health defects associated with the high intake of sugar, particularly by way of sugar sweetened beverages like soft drinks. He noted those drinks have long been considered major contributors to obesity and health problems such as diabetes as well as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, because of the obesity effect.
“The evidence is there that a high intake of sugar sweetened beverages is associated with an increase in body weight and obesity among children and adults. It shows that if you only drink one sugar drink per day, you are 27 per cent more likely to become overweight or obese and daily consumption of soft drinks increase fat deposits in your liver by 150 per cent. Also, men who drink one bottle of soft drink have a 20 per cent higher risk of having a heart attack or dying from a heart attack, than men who rarely consume soft drinks. The evidence is there,” the BAMP President noted.
He added, “And they are associated with other problems like tooth erosion, tooth decay and problems with bone density, so essentially we are talking about an osteoporosis effect. On the other hand, there is the evidence of the potential health benefits of reducing sugar sweetened beverage consumption, so some action is warranted just on that.”
Dr. DaSilva contended that Government should encourage “responsible drinking”, showing the benefits of increasing consumption of healthy drinks.
“So they should be providing targeted information and education for the public on an ongoing basis, there must be clear guidance on the quantity of sugar sweetened beverages which would be acceptable, bearing in mind that excess sugar has no nutritional value and is regarded as empty calories, so people should be encouraged to replace their sugar sweetened beverages with water. The educational programme needs to try to change people’s perception – how they look at food and that healthy food is not always more expensive. Also, the medical fraternity must always be raising the issue of sugar sweetened beverages as part of our routine interaction with patients, especially the ones that are overweight or obese,” he said.
The BAMP official made the point as he noted the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases would warrant that Government also institute programmes aimed at reducing salt levels and saturated fats and increasing physical activity.
“We have to start to educate people that when you take up a bottle of soy sauce it has salt in it, so there is no need to add salt to your food; and that ketchup has sugar in it, so you don’t go adding extra sugar,” he added.
With all that in mind, he added it is perhaps time for all schools in this country to have a gymnasium and a structured physical education programme, which is put in place as part of the curriculum. (JRT)