On the occasion of World Obesity Day 2022 and in celebration of the
theme ‘Everybody Needs to Act’, nine regional partners have
united to reaffirm their collective commitment to work together to
prioritise action against overweight and obesity even as the World Obesity
Atlas, 2022 paints a dismal picture for obesity in the Caribbean.
The Atlas, released on March 4, 2022, by the World Obesity Federation,
noted that:
● Six out of ten of the countries in the Americas with the highest estimated
prevalence of obesity amongst women by 2030 are from the Caribbean with
Bermuda topping this list at 48 per cent and St Vincent and the Grenadines
at number ten with 42 per cent.
● Six Caribbean countries fall into the top ten list when projecting 2030
child obesity rates (5 to 19 years), with Barbados and Jamaica at 22 per
cent, Bahamas at 23 per cent and Bermuda at 24 per cent exceeded only by
the US at 25 per cent.
● In terms of preparedness to tackle obesity and NCDs, the projections are
equally bleak with six Caribbean countries (St Vincent and the Grenadines,
Suriname, Belize, Grenada, Guyana and Haiti) among the ten least
prepared.
The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) has joined with The Food and
Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, The Caribbean Public
Health Agency, The Pan American Health Organization, The Organisation
of Eastern Caribbean States Commission, The United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF), Earth Medic/ Earth Nurse, The Law and Health Research
Unit of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, and the Rotary District
7030, Rotary International, to highlight the need for robust policies to
prevent and treat the crisis of overweight and obesity facing CARICOM
countries.
HCC says there is some good news. Among the top 10 most prepared to
tackle obesity and overweight are Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and
Jamaica with St Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda projected to have some of
the lowest levels of obesity in children and among adults in 2030.
Unhealthy diets dominated by unhealthy ultra-processed foods high in
sugars, fats and sodium, are among the greatest contributors to overweight
and obesity and NCDs.
The costs of an unhealthy food environment are many: from increased
health costs due to diabetes, heart disease and stroke, and many cancers;
stigma of people who are living with overweight and obesity; and reduced
lifespans.
Policies which transform food systems and create healthy food
environments make it easier for Caribbean people to make the healthiest
choices and are urgently needed. These policies will yield the greatest
returns on investment.
At present, Caribbean children and adults are at a disadvantage. They are
born into, grow and live in profit-making, obesogenic environments where
cheap unhealthy foods are widely available, accessible and heavily
marketed. Caribbean citizens, especially children, have a right to nutritious
food.
Healthy food policies which are based on sound evidence and have been
shown to improve our food systems are well known, and recommended by
global and regional agencies including CARPHA, FAO, UNICEF and
WHO/PAHO.
These policies are set out in the CARPHA 6-point policy package to address
childhood obesity through joint policy action and include but not limited
to:
● Food based dietary guidelines and nutrition education;
● Mandatory front of package nutrition warning labelling to empower
consumers to make the healthiest choices;
● Fiscal policies to reduce the cost of healthy options while increasing the
cost of unhealthy foods;
● National school feeding programmes and regulation in school settings to
ban the sale and marketing of ultra-processed foods;
● Food supply policies which support domestic production of healthy foods
while disincentivizing the importation of unhealthy foods;
● Double and triple duty actions which improve food systems while also
addressing related challenges such as climate change; and,
● Conflict of interest policies to protect policy-making spaces from vested
interests.
“Caribbean people, including our children, have a right to health
supporting environments and we can only achieve this by working
together,” noted Sir Trevor Hassell, President of the HCC.
He further stated: “On World Obesity Day 2022, this diverse coalition of
regional partners are united in our collective commitment to leverage our
respective strengths in support of our governments, to tackle overweight
and obesity and the interlinked challenge of NCDs through the
implementation of effective treatment programmes and evidence-based
healthy food policies which transform food systems for healthier
Caribbean people.”