We’ve been working with the FIT Wellness Centre in Nevis and assisting with their National Weight Loss Campaign.  We’re delighted to let you know that this campaign gets started on 26th January at the FIT Park, Bath Plains, Nevis.

Director of the FIT Wellness Centre, Mr David Walwyn, was recently interviewed about the campaign and you can read a nice write-up of his interview by Nevis Pages below. 

To register for the National Weight Loss Campaign, please visit the sign-up page here 

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Update: The start date for the National Weight Loss Campaign has been pushed back, a new date will be released shortly.

Article by Nevis Pages:

David Walwyn of the Fit Wellness Center on Nevis, in a recent interview, explained that the National Weight loss campaign will be officially launched at the Fit Park, on the 26th of January.

The Caribbean Moves campaign is growing with a third Caribbean country launching their version of this initiative. On 7^th December 2018, Trinidad and Tobago joined the Caribbean Moves family with the launch of TT Moves at the Brian Lara Promenade, in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh explained that this campaign is just one of their approaches to reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases in their Caribbean nation. He stated that this campaign is a continuation of their plan to move the public from an unhealthy to a healthier lifestyle, explaining that:

“When I say a healthier lifestyle, I mean how we eat, how we exercise, controlling our stress levels, moving away from this, as social-media electronic toys which shackle us to a device and we sit down.

“We have to start to exercise some more. Simple walking, simple jogging. We have to bring into our diets healthier options like fruits. Today we are giving out fruits and fruit trees. We want people “to gradually change their lifestyles, not change today for tomorrow.”

The launch of TT Moves follows the launch of Barbados Moves in October 2018 with more Caribbean nations expected to join the movement in 2019.

Caribbean Moves is an initiative launched in 2018 that is based on the successful Jamaica Moves  campaign and focuses on physical activity, healthy eating and age appropriate health checks. They’re in the process of establishing a secretariat and their remit is to develop an implementation schedule, coordinate activities and strengthen existing work in the Caribbean Region.

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Picture Credit: Anil Rampersad, pictured is  Terrence Deyalsingh,  the Minister of Health for Trinidad and Tobago 

OH Services, an organisation that aims to support people through the difficult periods of their life by offering counselling services, has recently started an online forum for women who have been affected by fibroids.

The forum is a closed private group that will enable women to connect with each other, share experiences and gain access to the expertise of OH Services.

It’s hoped that by having a space to share the ups and downs of having fibroids, women will be given an outlet to express their feelings and receive support in order to address the emotional impact of fibroids.

If you’ve been affected by fibroids and would like to try out this forum, you can find it on OH Services’ website here.

We’re delighted to be working with OH Services to support them in facilitating the discussions in the forum and look forward to connecting with women online.

In October, we started a new consultancy project with our client being the FIT Wellness Centre in Nevis. This piece of work has involved us assisting the FIT Wellness Centre in developing their non-communicable disease (NCD) action plan and with the implementation of their National Weight Loss Campaign, a key part of their action plan.

In November, we took part in a press conference to discuss FIT’s NCD Prevention Action Plan and the National Weight Loss Campaign and were delighted to be featured on the NNC News.

We’re really happy to share the news clip with you. You can check it out below.

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If you’re based in Nevis and would like to take part in the National Weight Loss Campaign, please email us and if you’re creative and would like the chance to win $500EC, then you can enter the slogan competition for the campaign. You can find out more here.

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
• Emailing the slogan to info@lakehealthandwellbeing.com
• 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.

More Information

For further information please contact Abi Begho by calling 667 0079 or emailing info@lakehealthandwellbeing.com

About the National Weight Loss Campaign

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.

The public can register for the campaign by emailing admin@fitwellnesscenter.com or calling (869)-662-8749

Businesses Can Get Involved Too

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

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

Published by: Lake Health and Wellbeing

Date: 15th November 2018

Download here: SSB Taxation Position Statement

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References

1. UNICEF, Situation Analysis of Children in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area and the Government of St Kitts and Nevis, Christ Church, Barbados, 2017
2. PAHO, Health in the Americas, 2012: St Kitts and Nevis, PAHO, 2012
3. Xuereb, G. (2017). Sugar Sweetened Beverages Taxes in the Caribbean – Progress and Challenges.
4. 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.