Fast food restaurants challenged to offer healthier alternatives

With almost 1 000 calories in a snack box meal, fast food restaurants are being challenged to come up with healthier offerings for the public’s consumption.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh threw down the gauntlet during a virtual address on the first working day of the SIDS Ministerial Conference on NCDs and Mental Health at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Wednesday.

“Some statistics show that the caloric content in one box with two pieces of chicken and fries and a soft drink already has 967 calories in it. The amount of salt and cholesterol in one fast food meal! And we are asking the fast food industry to not only relook their marketing but to consider the offering of healthy options because we want them as a business to succeed, but we must change their model of operations,” he added.

According to dietary guidelines, generally, the recommended daily calorie intake is 2 000 calories a day for women and 2 500 for men.

Deyalsingh told fellow ministers and representatives of health partner organisations that his country, through its Chamber of Commerce and Industry, had followed World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations and started to engage with the fast food industry to encourage it to re-establish the way it markets its food and drink, particularly to children.

Highlighting the growing incidence of childhood obesity around the Caribbean and its impact on already overburdened health systems, he said Trinidad and Tobago had taken some steps to combat the “alarming” statistics of one in every three children in the region being either overweight or obese.

One such initiative is outfitting every secondary school in the twin-island republic with exercise equipment to encourage higher levels of physical activity.

However, Deyalsingh admitted that government initiatives would not be enough to turn the tide and he urged caregivers to step up to the challenge.

“Parents must take some personal responsibility for the health and well-being of their children,” he said, stressing that a lifestyle change which encourages activity and healthy diets is paramount to safeguarding the future health of the region.

jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb