The Caricom Secretariat urged parents to reflect on the examples they set at home regarding the consumption of a balanced diet and exercise when the agency collaborated with the Health Ministry to host a health walk at the National Park on Saturday last in observation of Caribbean Wellness Day.
According to a press release, this year’s observations were held under the theme ‘Love that Body – Building the Foundation for Healthy Lifestyles’ focusing on addressing, preventing and controlling Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) among the region’s children.
“Are we making accessible and providing meals that provide a balanced diet with the required food groups paying particular attention to fruits and vegetables? Are the portions provided appropriate or are we supersizing? Are we setting an example in our eating habits?” Caricom Deputy Secretary-General Lolita Applewhaite asked the gathering.
She also urged parents to think about whether they provide a smoke free environment for their children at home, in their cars and in public spaces and whether they facilitate at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity for their children. “What example do we set in relation to the consumption of alcohol?” she asked, adding that the answers to these questions “would inform us of the foundation we are building for our future generation.”
Applewhaite reminded the audience that “The lifestyles and habits observed and developed during childhood are the basis of adult lifestyles with implications for our health status as an adult.” She noted that parents have a responsibility to themselves to lead healthy lifestyles for their personal well-being in order to ensure a healthy and productive workforce and an equal responsibility to nurture their children.
The Deputy Secretary-General noted that the first four years of observing Wellness Day focused on raising the awareness of the burden of NCDs at both the regional and national levels and prioritising among member states the battle against NCDs in their plans. As the movement gained momentum, the battle moved on to the global stage and Caricom took the lead and was successful in urging the United Nations to convene a high level meeting in September 2011 on NCDs. In going forward Wellness Day observations will be centered on preventing and controlling NCDs throughout the life cycle.
The annual Wellness Day observations started in 2008 in keeping with the 2007 Port of Spain Declaration ‘Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of NCDs’, which was the outcome of the first ever summit on NCDs. That summit revealed the concerns of Caricom Heads of Government about the physical, economic and social burdens caused by lifestyle-related diseases.
They recognized that the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, obesity and cancer in Caricom countries was taking a significant toll on human capital, our most important resource. The declaration outlined a series of necessary measures to address the four main risk factors that foster NCDs, namely physical inactivity, inadequate diets, tobacco use and the harmful use of alcohol.
