Doctor urges groups to help tackle childhood obesity

A local doctor is urging youth groups across the Caribbean to become more involved in getting young people to make lifestyle changes to reverse the increasing trend of childhood obesity.

Speaking at the launch of the tenth Caribbean Leaders Youth Retreat, Senator Dr Crystal Haynes outlined statistics that paint a worrying picture of the current situation, as she made the call for action.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) says the rate of obesity has increased fourfold among children worldwide over the four decades from 1976 to 2016, rising from four percent to 16 percent. The WHO’s Global School Health Survey, which was carried out in 26 schools in Barbados in 2012, showed that 31.5 per cent of the children were overweight, while 14.4 per cent were considered obese,” she said.

Adding that the consumption of sweet drinks was contributing seriously to the problem closer home in the region, Dr Haynes added: “Caribbean countries are the highest consumers of carbonated drinks in the world. Now, if you drink a bottle of soda, you have already surpassed your sugar intake for the day. The risk of obesity increases 60 per cent with increased servings of sweet drinks, carbonated or otherwise, per day.”

Dr Haynes acknowledged that the “soda tax” introduced by the Government a few years ago had reduced consumption of those beverages – by between six and 16 per cent – and increased water consumption between six and 7.5 per cent. But she said a strategic plan is still required.

“Yes, Government can pass certain laws and make provisions for schools to serve healthier foods and so on, but where is the evidence that translates it to everyday people? That is where organizations like this can come in, as you have a pulse on what young people are doing and thinking,” she told participants of the four-day retreat that catered to young people, aged 14 to 25, from across the Caribbean.

Dr Haynes further stressed the importance of healthy eating habits, nothing that, contrary to popular belief, genetic predisposition plays a very small role in childhood obesity.

“Less than one per cent of cases are genetic….Weight is influenced by lifestyle factors; even with a genetic predisposition, those who are overweight or obese can alter their weight by changing their lifestyle habits,” she said.

She also identified other factors contributing to the premature death of young people, some of which were connected to mental health issues.

“The leading causes of death among young people are depression, crime, sexually transmitted infections and vehicular accidents. Number one is car accidents, the second is homicide, and the third is suicide. Two of these are related to mental health and coping skills, which definitely need more attention,” she said.

Senator Haynes added that drowning was one of the leading causes of death among children between five and 14 years old, and noted that a former local swimmer who represented Barbados at the Olympic Games planned to start a national Learn to Swim initiative to address that issue.