More than four in ten Barbadian children are overweight or obese, according to new research that public health experts are calling a national crisis requiring urgent, society-wide action – including entrenching the school nutrition policy in law.
According to estimates from the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) observatory data, the proportion of Barbadian children aged five to 19 who are overweight or obese increased from 33 per cent in 2012 to 42 per cent in 2022.
In disclosing the sobering new figures at a media conference held by the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition (BCOPC) at the 3Ws Oval, UWI Cave Hill, on Thursday, senior lecturer at the George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre, Dr Madhuvanti Murphy, warned that the rate continues to rise.
“We are seeing some alarming trends in terms of obesity and overweight in children in Barbados,” she said.
“This is alarming in terms of the fact that it is a trend that is still going up. This trend has been going since the 90s, and it is consistent. And when you happen to see trends like this, it tells us that this is not about individual failures; this is a systemic issue that needs addressing.”
When one considers Barbados compared to the global average, this country’s rate is more than double, she added.
“So, we have two in five children who are overweight or obese; and not only that, that is more than double the global average which is about 20 per cent in 2022. So, as I mentioned, our rate is 42 per cent, the global rate 20 per cent.”
This means there must be a whole‑of‑society approach to addressing this emerging crisis while identifying some of the systemic drivers of childhood obesity, she said.
“We know some of these are about having more policies and regulations. And a lot of it also has to do with having everyone in society be part of the discussion and being able to help us in enforcing the policies and the regulations that come into play. So, what we do know are things like the commercial determinants of unhealthy eating. We know that family units, in some cases, complain about the accessibility of food, the school and the school environment… all part of the system that drives obesity in children.”
The focus is on leveraging that system to make a difference in tackling this chronic disease in children, Dr Murphy suggested.
“We have identified work we have done with the coalition and with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados. We have identified certain leverage points, in terms of where we can make a difference; and most of these have to be around changing the school environment, because, as I mentioned, this is not individual failure. This is a systemic issue that needs addressing. And the only way to do that is to change the environment, so that the healthy choice becomes the choice.”
But the chronic disease expert was adamant that for the current school nutrition policy to be effective, it must be mandatory.
Dr Murphy said: “What we do know, from evidence elsewhere – because it’s too early to have a full evaluation of the regulations – but what we do know from other parts of the world is that the school nutrition policy or any sort of these policies, to be successful, they need to be mandatory. The recommendations are great; but when they are enforced, and when they are audited, that is when we see the best results for these types of policies. So, that is what we are really advocating.”
While acknowledging that progress has been made over the past couple of years with the government placing greater emphasis on tackling lifestyle diseases and nutritional health, BCOPC chair Nicole Foster said she was “deeply” worried about the rising rate of childhood obesity in the country.
“When we examine the data on childhood obesity in Barbados, the trend is deeply concerning,” said Foster, who heads the UWI Cave HIll Law and Health Research Unit.
“The numbers are moving in the wrong direction. Too many of our children are becoming overweight or obese at an early age – placing them at increased risk of diabetes, hypertension, and other [non-communicable diseases] later in life.”
“The Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition is clear that while no single policy will, on its own, solve our childhood obesity crisis, the school nutrition policy is a critical component of our national response. Moreover, experiences from across the globe tell us that for the School Nutrition Policy to truly deliver the envisaged benefits, it must be sustainable, operational and enforceable.”
She said the coalition was therefore calling for the development of regulations under the Education Act to support effective implementation and enforcement of the school nutrition policy.
“Legislation will help ensure consistency, accountability, and protection of children from unhealthy food environments and establish a level playing field for all stakeholders to operate.”
She then turned her attention to the recently introduced school breakfast programme.
“While a well‑designed and effectively implemented school breakfast programme can serve as a useful complement to the school nutrition policy, we emphasise that its design and implementation must be in alignment with the school nutrition policy and free from conflicts of interest.”
The coalition also argued that the successful delivery of a breakfast programme of this nature and scale will depend on the adequacy of the school meals service infrastructure.
Dr Foster said: “Significant strengthening and, where necessary, retrofitting this infrastructure, therefore, need to form a core part of the programme’s roll‑out. The coalition recently met with the Minister of Educational Transformation … and is encouraged by the minister’s assurance that this will, in fact, be the case.”
