On this World Obesity Day, Barbados finds itself on the wrong side of the scale.
And the figures are sobering.
According to Chairman of the Barbados Drug Formulary Committee Dr Kenneth Connell, eight out of ten deaths are due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs): diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke – and 16 per cent of which are premature.
Simply put, we are killing ourselves.
What’s more, this epidemic of NCDs has exceeded the millions of taxpayers currently pay to support national health care.
At a press conference hosted by the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition today, Clinical Director of the Barbados Diabetes Foundation Dr Diane Brathwaite warned: “We have a tidal wave of NCDs, causing people complications and it has simply outstripped our health care budget. You will not be able to care for the level of complications that we are seeing.”
Citing an example, Brathwaite disclosed that the annual cost of medical care for someone with diabetes was six times that of someone without the condition.
She said: “Should you develop a diabetes-related complication your cost can escalate to a spiralling 60 times the cost of care to somebody who does not have a complication related to diabetes. And the same applies to other NCDs and complications related to them.”
The news doesn’t get any better for childhood obesity.
Professor Sir Trevor Hassell pointed out that Barbados has a mere one per cent chance of meeting its commitment to halting childhood obesity by 2025.
Now that we have heard the facts, the looming question is how are we going to fix this and survive long enough to fix this on current trajectory?
Are we bold enough or ready to take serious action beyond the usual lip service and the crash diet?
We all agree that we have to reverse this blight on our future. But we have been hampered by a lethargic response to get it right despite signing on to the World Health Organisation’s nine voluntary goals for NCD’s in five years time.
That report calls for government-led policies, public education and more action from the private sector.
Back in 2015, Government introduced a ten per cent excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, a key contributor to obesity
We are still unclear how effective it has been, but given the complaints that school children can consume as much as three or more soft drinks per day, we have a clear picture of the problem.
Officials have since called for the ten per cent rate to be doubled in order to have a real impact on consumption patterns, and Government should, therefore, take note.
Government, too, must address the elephant in a room. Healthy food is expensive while processed, salty, sugary foods are cheap. The imbalance must be addressed. Efforts must be made to increase the affordability and accessibility of healthy products if we are serious about helping especially the vulnerable in our community to make better food choices.
And what about calls for Government to enforce restrictions on the use of sugary drinks in schools? Why the delay? Add to that a new and healthy menu from the school meals department and at all school canteens is a must.
We expect that the private sector shares similar concerns for the well-being of Barbadian workers and consumers and therefore, significant action is required from this group.
Manufacturers, retailers, food outlets and vendors must be challenged by the Government and citizens to reduce the amount of sugar, salt and calories in their products.
Certainly, more can be done to improve the nutritional composition of existing products, particularly popular items. Create fresh alternatives and use brand power to persuade consumers to change. It can be good for business.
But any action on the part of Government and the private sector will need the support of all Barbadians.
We need to stop living to eat and eat to live.
Cut back on sugar and salt and stop overindulging in food high in saturated and transfats. Drink more water and coconut water and get moving. Stop blaming fast food outlets, restaurants and vendors for poor choices.
The weight of shortened life expectancy, soaring health care bills, ill-health, physical incapacity and malaise is simply too great for generations of future Barbadians to bear.
