Nutrition, the Caribbean’s Ignored Issue

In a time where NCDs are at an all time high, where in the Caribbean & LATAM this is the greatest contribution to premature mortality, accounting for two of three deaths overall and NCD mortality in the Caribbean is highest in the Americas, costs the government's of Jamaica , Trinidad, Bahamas and Barbados 1.4 – 8.0% of GDP , where health specialists have recognized the impact of the lifestyles we now have & the importance of restoring certain habits related to these lifestyles, those being healthy eating, consistent exercise and adaptors/assisters to stress & stress management; now more than ever is the awareness of nutritional adequacy important.

More than 85% of adults in CARICOM member states do not meet recommended levels of fruit and vegetable intake. The WHO has started that up to 80% of all heart disease and over 40% of cancer would be prevented by simply eliminating risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diets, lack of physical activity and harmful use of alcohol. Considering Jamaica, in 2015, 7/10 Jamaicans died from one of the four major NCDs, namely cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and major lower respiratory disease. Many studies have been done to inform the governments of the personal approach necessary to take to mass educate and align policy with the nutritional education needs of the society however the governments of the Caribbean are not proactive in their approach to adjust and enforce policy and promotion where studies have been done.

Prof Fitzroy Henry et al has found that the <60% of deaths in the Caribbean are nutrition related, these being deaths related to heart disease, cancer, stroke, hypertension and diabetes. Programs like the Jamaica Moves initiative are exceptional & aligns with the findings of Henry et al in that, the approach taken to this chronic health issue must be multi-sectoral rather than just an agriculture or just a trade issue. Initiatives like this must be explored and expounded upon as it has seen success in, being adapted by the population and has seen its expansion to other Caribbean countries! Once again, Prof Henry has found that compared to 27 other countries, 15 countries of CARICOM has a significantly lower cost to access healthy food, however there is a great lack of nutrition-health-related education and lack of promotion by public and private sector agencies. Specific to Jamaica, if appropriate information on nutrient content/value was disseminated to the population, Jamaicans could achieve healthy eating at low costs.

There is also the issue of globalization and poverty, which ensures that there is an abundance of western style foods, high calorie, energy dense, low nutritional value foods, usually processed and filled with oils and sugars which are usually priced cheaply. Research shows that the anecdotal claims of Jamaicans and by extension the Caribbean, that to eat healthier is more expensive, is true. The governments must therefore find ways, whether through subsidies or increase productions of fruits and vegetables in the Caribbean, so costs can be lower, in order to ensure that the cost of sting healthy is lowered overtime.

There is also the lackadaisical attitude towards eating healthy, in which many Jamaicans will say “we ago dead anyway” but Jamaicans should be considering the cost, the massive cost of maintaining a disease under livable control. Medicines, transportation costs, doctoral costs, hospital emergencies, missed work/productivity days not only for whom is ill but for those that care for the ill, and how this can all be avoided, or controlled, if we simply adapted healthier diets and by extension, healthier lifestyles.

With this being said, there are efforts being made, with a great example being Jamaica Moves and it’s Caribbean counterparts and the recognition of the food security emergency that the Caribbean faces however governments MUST be more proactive and consider the high cost and damage that NCDs cause on the economies and their people. We must employ policy change, and enforce these policies with a firm fist so we can see a gradual culture and economic shift towards healthier eating and lifestyle habits.

Figures are taken from Healthy Caribbean Coalition and MOHW Jamaica