Number of obese students a concern

Over 50 per cent of secondary school students in Barbados are overweight or obese.

Pointing to a study conducted in 2007 revealing this figure, Dr. Donald Simeon, Deputy Executive Director and Director of Research for the Caribbean Public Health Agency, said that there was a similar picture across the region.

Deputy Executive Director of the Caribbean Public
Health Agency, Dr. Donald Simeon, is concerned
about the rise in overweight youth in the region.

Some of the home economists attending the workshop.

In fact, he outlined that over 30 per cent of secondary school students across the region fell into this
category, labelling this situation as “alarming”.

“It is an epidemic we are facing in the Caribbean,” he stated, pointing to the implications this has in terms of the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and other chronic non-communicable diseases.

Pointing out that several countries had engaged in interventions to help address this issue, he reminded individuals that it was necessary to evaluate these to determine their effectiveness and efficiency.

Speaking on a few of these projects, which have been successful in reducing the onset of diabetes and other chronic non-communicable diseases, he stated that it was critical that Caribbean people get back to consuming healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables and reduce their fast food intake.

“The Caribbean really needs to look at this because we are supposed to be consuming four to five servings of these every day, but we are not. People complain that the prices of vegetables especially are too high and this needs to be addressed,” he added.

Addressing Monday’s morning session of the Caribbean Association of Home Economists Pre-Conference Workshop, he told those gathered that adults often utilised those behaviours learnt when they were children and therefore it was critical to instil the correct practices regarding eating and exercise from early stages.

Furthermore, he emphatically stated that school-based health and nutrition programmes have the potential to bring about positive behaviour change and promote better lifestyles.

The event was held at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic in Barbados. (JMB)