The region’s “increasing weight” can’t be overlooked

Apr 13, 2014 News

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Recently there has been the growing concern of obesity within the Caribbean region; which some scholars posit can be attributed to the economic growth within the region that has changed the type of foods being consumed, most of which include a higher fat content. Others argue that the region has culturally shifted and developed the western ideology of fast foods, hence the reason why we see the proliferation of such eating establishments.
Whatever the case may be, what is definitively certain is that the region is in essence getting fatter.  Research by international organizations such as WHO and PAHO have shown the inextricable link to disease and obesity, which is greatly manifested in the likes of diabetes and cardiovascular problems, among others, all of which, in Guyana’s context, have increased significantly among the younger generation and adults.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its nutrition and consumer protection summary of Guyana “a national study on physical activity conducted in 2000, found that 22.4% of the population 20 years and older are obese and that an additional 29.0% are overweight. Significantly more females are obese compared with males. Compared to a previous survey (1996-97) these values indicate an increase in the prevalence of excess weight over the period 1996-97 to 2000.”
These results aren’t just limited to Guyana, throughout the region there is the prevalence of obesity which is statistically reflected albeit differently.
Godfrey Xuereb, Pauline Johnson, Audrey Morris, Christine Bocage, Paula Trotter and Fitzroy Henry in their article ‘Obesity in Caribbean Children: its magnitude and current control effects’ report that “national surveys in different Caribbean countries found that 7-20 percent of males and 22- 48 percent of females, 15 years of age exceeded 120 percent of reference weight for height” also known as one’s Body Mass Index (BMI).
The intellectuals further state that “studies carried out among overweight children aged 5-15 in the USA have shown that 61 percent already have one or more cardiovascular risk factors and 27 per cent have two or more such factors.” A direction in which the Caribbean is no doubt heading.
Moreover “Type 2 diabetes, so rare in youth, that is used to be known as adult-onset Diabetes Mellitus, has risen dramatically in adolescents. Mortality and morbidity data from the region suggest that the prevalence of Chronic Nutrition Related Diseases is increasing in all the countries of the region” (Ibid).
Dr. Fitzroy J. Henry, director of the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) in his paper combatting obesity and Non communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the Caribbean policy perspectives says that “Obesity is the most important underlying cause of death in the Caribbean. Furthermore, the alarming increase in obesity in recent decades constitutes a formidable public health and financial challenge to Caribbean countries. Obesity is strongly associated with the major chronic diseases the Caribbean confronts today: cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some cancers. And the disease burden increases with increasing obesity.”
It’s quite clear that we have a problem; the question now is what measures we put in place to abate or curb this “disease” which is afflicting the region. For the most part a conscious lifestyle geared towards health and nutrition would be the most logical approach. But based on the societal constructs of the region and the level of education that is placed on obesity, persons may be oblivious to the situation facing them. Research has proven that mothers generally cannot distinguish whether or not their children are obese, and culturally some persons associate fat with wealth, hence the reason why they are not inclined to reverse it.
Obesity is more complex than it seems as Dr. Henry outlines “this position is different from those who believe that the problem of obesity is simply a consequence of poor personal behaviours – the product of gluttony and laziness. This bias against obese people and an over-emphasis of personal responsibility has resulted in the key role of the environment in the development of obesity being largely ignored. Exalting people to change their behaviours to improve the quality of their diet and their physical activity level is unlikely to succeed in an environment in which there are many inducements to engage in opposing behaviours that lead to a chronic positive energy imbalance.”
According to Dr. Henry, in the past, largely educational programme approaches have been applied to combat obesity in the Caribbean. A more effective strategy for dealing with this public health problem he suggests “would appear to be one that goes beyond the educational dimension and deals with those environmental and societal factors that induce the obesity promoting behaviour. In this way we may reduce the exposure of the whole population to obesity-promoting forces.”
“The successful challenge to obesity therefore lies not in medical interventions at the individual level but in the public policy domain which can create the environment for individual behaviour change…Vital to the success of this approach will be the participation of health officials, educators, legislators, businesses and planners in various health promoting actions” says Dr. Henry. (Dwijendra Rooplall)

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