KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) has launched its ‘Out of Our Schools’ mass media campaign amidst a warning from Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton that Jamaica is in a crisis, with some citizens now being forced to adjust their lifestyles due to health challenges.
Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton“If you examine the health profile of our population, we are in a crisis which, if we were to be blunt, there is actually a lost generation around that crisis, a cohort of citizens who unfortunately will have to spend the rest of their lives trying to make themselves as comfortable as they can but will never be the same in terms of being healthy, in terms of productivity, in terms of time they can spend with their family and friends,” Tufton told the launch of the campaign, which is in support of the first phase of the School Nutrition Policy.
The Policy is spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Youth.
Tufton said that there is almost a lost generation where the horse has bolted, gone through the gate. “The most we can do is build out hospital beds to give them a sense of comfort. It is a tragic way to look at it, but it is the reality. Our children still have hope of a better life, a fulsome life, a productive life, a life that has a better probability of existing up until age 70, 75 or beyond,” he added
HFJ said that the campaign is to target stakeholders such as students, parents, school administrators, vendors and manufacturers on the importance of embracing healthier food options for children.
According to the Foundation, 23.3 percent of Jamaican students aged 13 to 17 years are overweight, while 80 percent of all deaths in Jamaica are caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Tufton said that the campaign is not focused on restriction, but on proper nutrition, adding that this is necessary, as the majority of older patients receiving hospital care are suffering from NCDs, which can be linked to their lifestyles in childhood.
“The real issue is that it is a campaign around nutrition and I believe there is a bigger sell because every single one of us represent a child, whether foster parent or maternal, and I believe emotional appeal around wanting the best for your child by giving the best nutrition is perhaps the most substantial message that we can advance to those who may be thinking otherwise,” he said.
“Our children still have hope of a better, fulsome, and productive life. We almost, as adults, have a duty, a burden, a responsibility to give them the best possible chance to fulfil that lifelong experience,” he said, noting that the policy is “one of the most fundamental pieces of legislation around health and wellness, and if we get it right, we’re going to start a trend for the better”.
HFJ executive director, Deborah Chen, warned that “unhealthy diets not only impact the learning ability of our children, [but] also affect their psychosocial development.
“Unhealthy lifestyle practices developed in children for the most part continue to adulthood. The time to act is now.
“Long gone are the days when non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes are viewed as old people diseases. You just have to ask pediatricians who are lamenting that they are now seeing these diseases in their offices, and this is a great cause for concern,” said Chen.
“There is a direct correlation between the food our children eat and the health of our nation. Echoes of ‘Let children be children because we did the same thing as children and nothing neva do we’ are gone,” she added.
United Nations Children Fund (Acting) Country Representative, Vicente Teran, said the Fund is also in support of the Policy’s implementation.
“More than three-quarters of our students get their lunch from school canteens, tuck shops or vendors in the school food environment. The food environment in and around the schools, therefore, provides us with an opportunity to address these challenges,” he said.
