Childhood obesity is a major health issue in the Caribbean with 1 in 3 children being overweight or obese. The rate of childhood obesity in the Caribbean is higher than the global average and is reported to be on the rise.
Being obese and overweight in childhood is linked to the development of a number of health issues such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension, and it also negatively impacts a child’s mental health. These health issues can follow children into adulthood with children affected by obesity, or who are overweight, having an increased risk of becoming overweight or obese adults and developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer and heart disease in later life.
Childhood Obesity in St Kitts and Nevis
Childhood obesity is a significant challenge here 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.
Data has demonstrated that NCDs are becoming an epidemic in the Federation with 83% of deaths in St Kitts and Nevis being due to NCDs. We must do something about this to prevent our citizens from dying prematurely and one approach is to tackle childhood obesity.
To combat childhood obesity, we have to ensure that children adopt a healthy lifestyle and we also have to create a healthy environment at schools, in homes and within society so that children can make healthy choices.
Tackling Childhood Obesity in the Caribbean
The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) is a civil society member organisation that was established to combat NCDs and their associated risk factors.
One of their key focus areas is childhood obesity prevention and as part of their work, they published their Civil Society Action Plan for Preventing Childhood Obesity in the Caribbean. This plan provides guidance on how HCC members (we are a member) can strategically address this significant health challenge in their specific island states.
Lake Health and Wellbeing is thus aiming to align its strategy for childhood obesity prevention in St Kitts and Nevis with the following HCC priority areas:
- Trade and fiscal policy (taxation of unhealthy foods)
- Nutrition literacy (mandatory front-of-pack-labelling of foods)
- Early childhood nutrition (enacting legislation related to the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes)
- Marketing of healthy and unhealthy foods to children (Banning the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children)
- School and community-based interventions (Banning the marketing and sale of unhealthy foods and beverages in and around schools, mandatory physical activity in schools)
Over 2019 and 2020 we’ll be aiming to develop and implement a childhood obesity prevention strategy and have started this by working with the HCC on their recent childhood obesity prevention campaign and publishing a position statement on the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages in St Kitts. Please look out for updates and more information about our work in this area on our Childhood Obesity News Section and Childhood Obesity Blog.
References
- 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
- PAHO, Health in the Americas, 2012: St Kitts and Nevis, PAHO, 2012