CARE About Fibroids is a Washington, DC-based non-profit whose mission is to elevate uterine fibroids as a women’s health issue and drive change. Bringing together many of US’s most respected women’s health advocacy and policy-focused organizations to advance solutions, CARE About Fibroids is a catalyst for increased awareness, research and education about uterine fibroids, leading to earlier diagnosis and improved treatment.
As part of their mission to raise awareness of fibroids, they recently published a white paper entitled: ‘Uterine Fibroids: A Report on the Condition and its Impact on Women in the U.S. Their white paper provides some good background information on what fibroids are, how they are diagnosed and treatment options. They also discuss the challenges that women encounter with respect to diagnosis and the health system. As part of their discussion on the diagnosis challenges it was useful that the authors included a section exploring what is normal with regards to menstrual cycle. The confusion around this question means that many women are unable to recognise the symptoms of fibroids because they see their symptoms as being a normal part of their menstrual cycle.
We were also happy to see that the mental health challenges were discussed in this report, as this is an area that is often overlooked, and were pleased to see that the importance of family awareness was highlighted.
This was an interesting report which can be downloaded below.
The Healthy Caribbean Coalition and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados have released a new short video raising awareness of childhood obesity in the Caribbean. The clip informs the public of the negative consequences of childhood obesity and what needs to be done to address this issue.
Please view and share this video with your friends, family and associates and help get the message out there about how we can all improve the health and wellbeing of our children.
To find out more about childhood obesity in the Caribbean and for some useful resources you can visit the Healthy Caribbean Coalition’s Childhood Obesity Portal
Are you good with words? Are you creative? Then we want to hear from you!
We’re inviting residents of Nevis to take part in our tagline/slogan competition for the National Weight Loss Campaign.
The competition is open to all residents of Nevis. Entries should be clear, concise, catchy and easy to understand. They must also appeal to a wide audience and follow the basic guidelines below:
Convey the sentiment of the public coming together, taking a stance and making a change to get healthy and lose weight.
The slogan must be seven words or less
The slogan must rhyme
The slogan must be submitted by 5pm on 21st December 2018
You can submit your entry in any of the following ways:
Via a video on social media tagging @fitgames_inc on Instagram or @fitwellnessnevis on Facebook
Sending the slogan via a WhatsApp message to 667 0079
A winner will be selected, and this slogan will be used for the National Weight Loss Campaign. Three runners up will also be selected, and these slogans will be used throughout the campaign on social media.
There will also be a cash prize of $500EC, sponsored by the FIT Wellness Centre, for the winner.
The National Weight Loss Campaign starts in January 2019 and aims to help residents of Nevis lose weight through a fun six-month weight loss challenge that will support participants in getting active and eating a healthier diet. Participants will be guided through the six-month period with advice, tips, healthy recipes, fun events and one-to-one support. There will also be prizes for the person who loses the most weight in their category, recognition of those who have succeeded in losing their target weight and we’ll be following specific people on their weight loss journey.
We are so happy to announce that registration for the F.I.T. National Weight Loss Campaign in Nevis is open!
The National Weight Loss Campaign starts in January 2019 and aims to help residents of Nevis lose weight through a fun six-month weight loss challenge that will support participants in getting active and eating a healthier diet. Participants will be guided through the six-month period with advice, tips, healthy recipes, fun events and one-to-one support. There will also be prizes for the person who loses the most weight in their category, recognition of those who have succeeded in losing their target weight and we’ll be following specific people on their weight loss journey.
Technology will play an important role in the campaign and we’ll be creating a web-based health portal where participants can come together, support each other, ask questions, share pictures and videos and receive tips and advice from experts in health and fitness. The health portal will consist of a forum and a chat facility, so we can keep in touch with all participants and provide them with support every step of the way.
How To Register for the National Weight Loss Campaign
The National Weight Loss Campaign is open to everyone in Nevis – old, young, male and female. If an individual would like to lose weight or would like some support in adopting a healthier lifestyle then they are welcome to take part.
Businesses are strongly encouraged to take part in the National Weight Loss Campaign by either registering a team of their staff to get involved in the six-month weight loss challenge or they can play an instrumental role in improving the health and wellbeing of our community by becoming a corporate partner or sponsor.
For more information about this, businesses in Nevis can contact David Walwyn by email or phone (869)-662-8749
On 20th November 2018, we were on the beautiful island of Barbados for the Healthy Caribbean Coalition’s ‘Beyond the Call to Action Event: Towards School Policies in Support of Childhood Obesity Prevention.’
This event marked the end of the HCC’s childhood obesity prevention campaign. One of the key parts of this campaign was the HCC’s childhood obesity prevention petition (Call to Action) which called on Heads of Government to enact any of the following policies and legislation which have been demonstrated as effective measures to combat childhood obesity:
Imposition of a tax of not less than 20% on Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) and use tax revenue for NCD prevention and control.
Banning the sale, promotion and marketing of SSBs, and unhealthy foods and beverages in and around schools.
Mandatory physical activity in all primary and secondary schools
Adoption and application of regional standards for nutritional and front of package labelling of foods and beverages.
Banning the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children (includes non-school environments)
Enacting legislation related to The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
This event brought together a wide cross section of national and regional stakeholders to celebrate the achievements of the campaign and to showcase all the great work being conducted across the Caribbean to tackle childhood obesity. We heard from speakers from the Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica and Trinidad. It was particularly interesting listening to Dr Simone Spence’s presentation explaining Jamaica Moves’ new initiative targeting schools.
Youth Involvement
It was also very nice to see young people actively participating in this event. Young people took part in a parallel youth session led by Krystal Boyea, the HCC’s Youth Advocate. In this session young people discussed the solutions and barriers to creating a healthy school environment and also explored the types of products sold in schools and how the school environment influences behaviour and health.
We really enjoyed this event and would like to thank the HCC for inviting us to take part in the panel discussion. We look forward to hearing more about the work being conducted across the Caribbean to tackle childhood obesity and making our own small contribution to this effort.
In October 2018, we began consulting with the F.I.T. Wellness Center in Nevis to assist with the development and implementation of their NCD Prevention Action Plan, part of their NCD Prevention Programme.
On 27th November 2018, we were delighted to join F.I.T. in the launch of their NCD Prevention Action Plan and the announcement of their upcoming National Weight Loss Campaign.
The launch took the form of a press conference and was attended by the major media outlets in Nevis. The event was chaired by Mr David Walwyn, Director of the F.I.T Wellness Center and featured on the panel were:
Hon. Hazel Brandy-Williams, Junior Minister for Health, who provided an overview of NCDs in Nevis
Dr Judy Nisbett, Chief Medical Officer for Nevis, who discussed the cost of NCDs, this included direct and indirect costs as well as the impact NCDs have on families
Nadine Carty-Caines, Programme Coordinator, Health Promotion Unit, Ministry of Health, who took the press through all the statistics on NCDs in Nevis
Dr Raymond Moving, Internal Medicine, Alexandra Hospital, who explained the complications of NCDs focusing particularly on diabetes
Dr Samir Anadkat, Obesity and Diabetes Specialist, Professor (Neuroscience & Anatomy), Medical University of Americas, Nevis, who explored prevention and addressed some of the myths around weight loss
David Walwyn, Director, F.I.T. Wellness Centre, who spoke about F.I.T’s approach to tackling NCDs in Nevis
Abi Begho, Public Health Project Manager, Lake Health and Wellbeing, who discussed the upcoming National Weight Loss Campaign and also announced the slogan competition for the campaign
Why Focus on NCDs?
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and cancer are a major health challenge in St Kitts and Nevis with 83% of deaths in the Federation being due to these conditions.
One of the key factors driving NCDs in St Kitts and Nevis is the high rate of obesity. In 2012, PAHO reported that 32.5% of secondary school children in St Kitts and Nevis were overweight and 14.4% were obese and a more recent report published by UNICEF in 2017 stated that 26% of children in St Kitts and Nevis were obese. We know that children who are overweight or obese are more likely to become overweight or obese adults and this puts them at a high risk of developing NCDs like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Obesity rates in St Kitts and Nevis in adults aged 25 to 64 is high with a 2008 study stating that 33.5% of adults in this age group were overweight and 45% were obese.
F.I.T. has developed its answer to NCDs by developing its NCD Prevention Action Plan which will focus on supporting residents of Nevis to get fit, healthy and lose weight, and thus reduce their risk of developing an NCD. A core part of the action plan is the National Weight Loss Campaign which will start in January 2019.
The National Weight Loss Campaign
The National Weight Loss Campaign aims to help residents of Nevis lose weight through a fun six-month weight loss challenge that will support participants in getting active and eating a healthier diet. Participants will be guided through the six-month period with advice, tips, healthy recipes, fun events and one-to-one support. There will also be prizes for the person who loses the most weight in their category, recognition of those who have succeeded in losing their target weight and we’ll be following specific people on their weight loss journey.
Technology will play an important role in the campaign and we’ll be creating a web-based health portal where participants can come together, support each other, ask questions, share pictures and videos and receive tips and advice from experts in health and fitness. The health portal will consist of a forum and a chat facility, so we can keep in touch with all participants and provide them with support every step of the way.
How The Public Can Get Involved in the National Weight Loss Campaign
The National Weight Loss Campaign is open to everyone in Nevis – old, young, male and female. If an individual would like to lose weight or would like some support in adopting a healthier lifestyle then they are welcome to take part.
Businesses are strongly encouraged to take part in the National Weight Loss Campaign by either registering a team of their staff to get involved in the six-month weight loss challenge or they can play an instrumental role in improving the health and wellbeing of our community by becoming a corporate partner or sponsor.
For more information about this, businesses in Nevis can contact David Walwyn by email or phone (869)-662-8749.
Who is Behind this Initiative?
The National Weight Loss Campaign is an initiative of the FIT Wellness Center led by Mr David Walwyn with support from the Ministry of Health and Lake Health and Wellbeing
In April 2018, the UK Government introduced their sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) tax. Drinks containing 5-8g per 100 ml of sugar are now taxed at a rate of 18p per litre and drinks containing over 8g per 100 ml are taxed at a higher rate of 24p per litre. The tax is applied to all manufacturers and to date 457 companies are registered to pay this tax.
The tax has been successful in two regards. Firstly, in the run-up to the introduction of the tax many manufacturers reformulated their drinks to reduce the amount of sugar they contain to avoid paying the tax. This included supermarket giant Tesco’s who, in 2016, reduced the sugar content of their soft drinks to below 5g per 100ml. Other brands who have reduced the sugar content of their products include Ribena, Fanta and Lucozade. Some brands, such as Coca Cola have decided not to reformulate their products as they are concerned about losing their customers. This means that in the UK the price of a can of coke has increased by 8p and a large bottle of coke by 50p.
The second success of the sugar tax is the revenue that has been raised. In the first six months of the tax being introduced £154m was raised. The money raised from the sugar tax will be used to double the funding available to primary schools for PE and sports programmes to support healthier, more active, lifestyles in children. The funding will not only go towards expanding PE and sports programmes but to also expand breakfast clubs in primary schools ensuring that children have access to a healthy breakfast every week day.
Islands states throughout the Caribbean are considering introducing a SSB tax and it is hoped that the recent success of the UK and other countries like Mexico will provide Governments with the evidence of the impact of a SSB tax.
On 1st November 2018, the Ministry of Health in St Kitts held a public consultation on SSB taxation. During this consultation they provided information on their proposed approach to sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) taxation. Lake Health and Wellbeing supports the government’s plans to tax SSBs and has published a position statement outlining our views on this topic.
SSB Taxation
The taxation of SSBs has been utilised as a method of tackling obesity by creating a deterrent which leads to a reduction in the purchase and consumption of SSBs.
Taxation of SSBs has three important aims. The first it to incentivise manufacturers to reformulate or replace their products to create healthier options, the second is to deter the public from purchasing and consuming SSBs by making them unaffordable and the third is to raise funds from the tax revenue that can be used to support initiatives aimed at improving the health of the public.
Caribbean Children’s SSB Consumption
Children in the Caribbean drink large quantities of SSBs putting them at risk of becoming obese or overweight. Caribbean children’s frequency of consuming SSBs was found to be amongst the highest out of 187 countries. Furthermore, teenagers (12 to 15-year olds) in Barbados, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago reported drinking SSBs three times or more a day, and in St Kitts and Nevis it was found that children consumed at least one carbonated soft drink a day.
SSB Consumption and Obesity
This high consumption of SSBs has been linked to weight gain and obesity in adults and children, and obesity or being overweight increases a person’s risk of developing a number of non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease and cancer.
Obesity is a significant challenge in St Kitts and Nevis. A PAHO report revealed that 33% of secondary school children in the twin island state were overweight and 14% were obese. More recently, in 2017, a UNICEF report published that 26% of children in St Kitts and Nevis are obese. When looking at adults in St Kitts and Nevis, the PAHO study reported that 34% of adults were overweight and 45% were obese.
Tackling Obesity
In order to address the high rate of obesity in St Kitts and Nevis, a number of strategies are required and reducing the public’s consumption of SSBs by introducing a tax is just one of many approaches.
Our Position Statement
To find out more about the St Kitts Ministry of Health’s approach to SSB taxation and our position on this approach. You can download our position statement below.
Document: Taxing SSBs in St Kitts: A Position Statement
Xuereb, G. (2017). Sugar Sweetened Beverages Taxes in the Caribbean – Progress and Challenges.
Yang, L. et al. (2017). Consumption of Carbonated Soft Drinks Among Young Adolescents Aged 12 to 15 Years in 53 Low- and Middle-Income Countries. American journal of public health, 107(7), pp 1095-1100.
This event will take place at the beautiful Hilton Hotel in Barbados on 20th November in recognition of Universal Children’s Day and the official end of the HCC’s childhood obesity prevention campaign.
One of the key parts of this campaign was the HCC’s childhood obesity prevention petition which called on our Heads of Government to enact any of the following policies and legislation which have been demonstrated as effective measures to combat childhood obesity:
Imposition of a tax of not less than 20% on Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) and use tax revenue for NCD prevention and control.
Banning the sale, promotion and marketing of SSBs, and unhealthy foods and beverages in and around schools.
Mandatory physical activity in all primary and secondary schools
Adoption and application of regional standards for nutritional and front of package labelling of foods and beverages.
Banning the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children (includes non-school environments)
Enacting legislation related to The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
This event will officially close the petition and campaign by bringing together a wide cross section of national and regional stakeholders to celebrate the achievements of the campaign and to chart the way forward.
The meeting will provide a unique opportunity for organizations across the Caribbean, who took part in the campaign, to discuss the progress made over the course of the campaign and share national and regional successes and lessons learned in childhood obesity prevention advocacy platforms.
This one-day forum will also serve to leverage the energy and momentum of the past seven months and redirect it towards focussed evidence-based advocacy in support of creating healthy school environments across the Caribbean.
Lake Health and Wellbeing, as participant of the campaign and a member of the campaign’s civil society action team has been invited to take part in a panel discussion on the importance of coalitions and CSO collaboration around critical issues such as childhood obesity.
We’re very much looking forward to taking part in this very important event and are honoured to have been invited to participate – a big thank you to the HCC and HSFB for the invitation.
The 14th November is World Diabetes Day, a day that the world comes together to recognise the escalating threat that diabetes poses. This year’s theme is ‘The Family and Diabetes – Diabetes Concerns Every Family.’ This theme will cover a two-year (2018 ad 2019) period.
The aim of the 2018–19 campaign is to raise awareness of the impact diabetes has on the family and to promote the role family members can play in the management, care, prevention and education of diabetes.
The International Diabetes Federation and WHO’s key messages fall under four main areas (discover, prevent and manage) and they provide practical tips and advice for families.
Discover Diabetes
Statistics presented by the International Diabetes of Federation suggest that 50% of people with type 2 diabetes remain undiagnosed. Diagnosing diabetes early is very important in helping to prevent or delay the life-threatening complications that are associated with this condition. It is therefore very important that we are all aware of the symptoms, particularly if we have a family history of diabetes.
For World Diabetes Day, organisers are reminding family members of the key role they can play in identifying symptoms in their family members and thus helping detect diabetes early.
The symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be hard to identify because initially they don’t make you feel unwell and the symptoms may start to feel like normal every day behaviour. Take some time to reflect on whether these symptoms are normal for you, or your family member, or if they could be a sign of type 2 diabetes.
Urinating more often
Feeling thirsty
Feeling very hungry
Weight loss
Blurred vision
Prevent Diabetes
There is a huge opportunity to prevent diabetes as the International Diabetes Federation has reported that 80% of diabetes cases can be prevented by the public adopting a healthy lifestyle. This means that preventing diabetes starts at home. Simply by making a decision for your family to eat a healthy diet and exercise together means that your family members can reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The aim is for each of us is to create and live in an environment that supports a healthy lifestyle.
Manage Diabetes
Diabetes has a significant impact on families and family members often feel helpless when it comes to caring for those close to them who have diabetes. Research has show that 2 in 3 people wouldn’t know how to care for a family member with diabetes. This is likely to be due to a lack or awareness and access to relevant educational material. Research has shown that less than 1 in 2 people with diabetes and 1 in 4 family members of people with diabetes have access to diabetes education programmes.
If you’re a family member of a diabetic, it’s important to know that managing diabetes requires daily treatment, regular monitoring, a healthy lifestyle and ongoing education. Family support is key in achieving this. If you feel ill-equipped to support your family members, speak to your doctor and explore whether there are any diabetes self-management courses being held in your area.
Diabetes in St Kitts
Diabetes is a significant health challenge in St Kitts accounting for one of the most common reasons for patients visiting the Joseph N France Hospital for treatment.
In St Kitts and Nevis, approximately 1300 people are living with diabetes, therefore impacting 1300 families, with 71% being women. It is thus important for residents of St Kitts and Nevis to be aware of how they can prevent, manage and discover diabetes so they can better support their family members with diabetes, as well as reduce the risk of unaffected members developing this condition.
For more information you can listen to Hon Wendy Phipps’ s (Minister of State for responsibility for Health in St Kitts), statement in observance of world Diabetes Day 2018 on Sound Cloud here:
Conclusion
Family members can make a significant difference in the prevention, early diagnosis and management of diabetes. It’s important to learn more about this condition and if you need help in St Kitts you can contact the St Kitts Diabetes Association.
