SENIOR MEDICAL OFFICER of Health Dr Leslie Rollock, whose main job focus seems to be chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs), says lifestyle change is key to fighting the growing health threat which they pose.
Addressing the tenth anniversary celebrations of the Sandy Crest Medical Centre at Holetown, St James recently, Rollock noted that NCDs, mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, obesity and chronic respiratory diseases, will cause over eight out of ten of all deaths in Barbados by the year 2030.
Right now, the stats are bad enough, however, according to the 2014 Annual Report For NCDs, produced by the Barbados National Registry, almost 70 per cent of heart attack patients also had hypertension and almost 45 per cent were obese. And ironically, all of this has been caused by our improved standard of living.
Fried chicken with supersized fries, anyone? How about some barbecue sauce on that? And our combo package will also give you a 20-ounce soft drink! Rollock outlined several initiatives, spearheaded by the Ministry of Health, to confront the NCD challenge, including dietary guidelines for both the general public and students, and age-specific guidelines for physical activity and exercise.
She noted that other Government initiatives included the ten per cent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, announced in last year’s Budget, and the salt reduction campaign. Now, I accept that a budget can’t cover everything, but don’t you think it could cover how much money was raised by a tax imposed just the previous year? Can anybody say how much the sugar tax did actually raise (it was supposed to bring in $10 million) and how that money was used on health care?
Adding that the Ministry of Health would be “continuing to engage manufacturers and distributors of food and beverages on the issue of including healthy options in their products,” reported the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), it noted that the senior medical officer stressed that the Government could not fight the battle alone.
I want to thank the BGIS for putting out these stories on us “supersized” Bajans as we head toward Coronary Cul-de-Sac, via Cholesterol Avenue and Diabetes Highway.
Minister of Health John Boyce has been covered a lot in these reports, as he has really led the way on this small matter of how we are all happily killing ourselves through supersizing. I have to say that you can really feel the passion on the part of these frustrated health officials coming through the BGIS reports, no matter how professional the reporting is.
Well, folks, I am here today to put the case for the private food and beverage sectors. The case for finding all of the players in those sectors guilty, that is. Guilty of negligence for our health in the pursuit of profit.
Personal motive disclosed: As one whose markers (or whatever they are called) recently went up for cholesterol and blood sugar (it’s in the family) and whose weight (I am only admitting it for the purpose of this article) – ahem – went up a bit (too much) recently, I am lucky that I am not yet diagnosed as diabetic. I decided, however, that it would not be long in coming, unless I did something about it. So I have embarked seriously on a diet geared for people with Type 2 diabetes. I thought it would be fun.
It sucks. Yes, I have lost a few pounds and feel a whole lot better, but, man, this diet is horrible. There was a reason why cave men invented things to eat besides raw or cooked vegetables. By the way, to be fair, I have discovered that I like steamed broccoli. Who knew?
Three weeks in and I am fighting the urge for a full gastronomic revolt. I put the blame squarely on the supermarkets and food and drink manufacturers, and also the very same government whose health ministry is doing its best to warn us to eat right, for not allowing us access to modern products that would save us from caveman food every day.
As you know, snacks to a diabetic are not the same as snacks to a non-diabetic: They are not treats that you indulge in if you are feeling a little peckish. They are part of the effort to level out your sugar intake between those half-cup meals of boiled and raw vegetables and lean, taste-challenged chicken or fish.
I was looking for some variety in the snacks and happened upon a great article at www.shape.com, which listed 21 great snacks because of their various healthy attributes. You know I only saw one of them on the supermarket shelves here in Barbados? So, most of the snacks you get here are full of sugar, salt and preservatives. Goodbye healthy trail bars, yogurts, chips, cereals wafers, popcorn (Waitrose offering a few exceptions).
Having crossed into the diabetic food universe I am shocked at the paucity of stars and planets. Our food and drink manufacturers, and our distribution centres, not to mention almost all of our fast-food and quick-service restaurants, seem to retain an image in their marketing eye of customers without a health care in the world, when their own real eyes would surely tell them differently.
The rest of us – not a small minority, given the above-quoted statistics – must live in our alternate universe, boiling cabbage and butternut squash and feasting on Greek yogurt once in a while. Not to mention a handful of almonds. Must we languish in dietary prison?
Surely much better can be done. It’s time to stop treating diabetics like patients on the verge of shuffling off this mortal coil and deal with them as money-earning consumers who want the kind of foods they need to have in order to stay as healthy as possible while enjoying living.
Instead, the only “tasty” alternative we hear is, “Do you want gravy on your macaroni pie?” Which, and I have it on the best medical authority, is double heart-attack food.
