Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kenneth George.
The burden of non-communicable diseases and their complications, has reminded us that we need to plan for the health of our children.
Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kenneth George pointed out the above recently, even as he noted that children living in households where obese adults are present, are likely to be overweight and obese themselves.
He was at the time delivering remarks during the virtual Opening Ceremony for the Stakeholders Consultation for the Development of a School Nutrition Policy for Barbados, which was hosted this week by the PAHO/WHO Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.
“Barbados has gone from under-nutrition and mal-nutrition, to over-nutrition in seven to eight decades. Obesity has emerged as one of the most serious public health concerns in the 21st century. The dramatic rise in childhood obesity closely parallels the rapid increase in the prevalence of adult obesity. Obesity and NCDs lead to more obesity and NCDs,” heasserted.
“Research indicates that in households where one parent is obese, there is a 50 per cent chance that children will be obese. In households where both parents are obese, this probability increases to 80 per cent. Obese children and adolescents are at high risk of becoming obese adults. In essence, they are at higher risk for developing non-communicable diseases, at an earlier age,” he further commented.
“Complications of obesity you may well know, include cardiovascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidemias and Type II Diabetes. Indeed, poorly controlled NCDs and their consequences increase the risk of severe COVID-19 complications and possible death,” Dr. George added.
He meanwhile noted that in an effort to tackle childhood obesity, several evidence-based interventions intended to create healthier environments, have been developed by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Caribbean Public Health Agency, the Pan American Health Organisation and the World Health Organisation.
CARICOM Heads of Government and Member States have also recognised the need for an urgent response to the childhood obesity crisis facing the Caribbean and have repeatedly pledged their commitment, taking action which supports the creation of a healthier nutrition environment.
He further stated that in 2019, the Government of Barbados successfully advocated for the inclusion of school-based health promotion interventions for childhood obesity, as well as teacher training on NCDs and across the various national, regional and global recommendations, there are a set of core evidence-based policies recommended to tackle childhood obesity, which can be followed.
“These policies include the promotion of exclusive breast feeding, including the baby friendly hospital initiative; making it harder to consume excessive amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages, including an aggressive national pricing policy; helping persons know what they consume by having high visibility labelling for pre-packaged foods; continued public education for both adults and children, so as to improve nutrition literacy and finally, the acknowledgement that children spend a significant part of their time at school and therefore there is a need for a healthy school environment,” Dr. George remarked.
Acknowledging that the school environment provides opportunities for meaningful interventions and policies to create behaviour change, he stressed that the Ministry of Health and Wellness is hoping to add to the significant work that has been done by developing a National School Nutrition Policy, which aims to make the school environment a healthier one. (RSM)