It will be a long, hard fight against Barbados’ culture of abusing sugar and salt, but the Heart and Stroke Foundation says it is not relenting.
The latest round in the war against ill health, obesity and non-communicable diseases took place on Saturday at the Garrison’s Main Guard/Clock Tower, where the foundation held a Healthy School Nutrition Forum and Healthy Market.
Advocacy officer with the foundation’s Childhood Obesity Prevention Programme, Jan Phillips, said the forum was specifically for parents, as they had already done forums for vendors and other stakeholders.
“Today is for us to speak about the School Nutrition Policy and show parents how to play their part. This is the first one for parents since COVID, as they are also stakeholders in getting their children healthy,” she said.
Phillips said a list of companies and their healthier products was made since 2023, called the Alternative Snack and Drink List for School, and has been getting updated. The criteria for the foods are: no added sugar/sweeteners for drinks and no more than eight grammes of sugar, 150 milligrammes of sodium, 20 milligramess of cholesterol or three grams of fat per serving for snacks.
“When we started, people were telling us they did not know which snacks were healthier, so the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition hit the streets and visited establishments which offered products that fit our nutrient profile and created this list,” she said.
Phillips said the fight was a tough one, but they were determined to make a difference, and they were seeing progress.
“We are a little further forward than we were. People are calling and asking us for the list, so word is slowly but surely getting out. We still have a long way to go; it’s going to take a cultural shift, but the work must continue,” she said.
The health advocate lamented how research showed around 42 per cent of Barbadian youth aged five to 19 were obese. She said she wished they had started the programme sooner but was glad it had at least started.
The event included an overview of the School Nutrition Policy, the role of parents and guardians in reinforcing healthy eating habits, practical strategies for implementing healthy food choices in schools and the importance of healthy eating for student learning and well-being, as well as representatives of organisations offering samples and discounts on healthy foods. (CA)
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