A health-related club is expressing concern about what it has described as the growing rate of obesity and hypertension.
The numbers in Dominica are alarming, according to the Nuro Science Club of the Ross University School of Medicine.
“We have seen quite a bit of high blood pressure and obesity,” the Head Clinical Coordinator of the Club, Mathew Erisman, told a press conference.
Erisman while noting that there are quite a few healthy people in Dominica, cautioned that “We need to realize that life is less about doing what you want and more about taking care of oneself”.
He suggested that those who work a lot “in the bush and those who live very active lives” are in better shape.
“There is a way of life that is very healthy on the island and that shouldn’t be lost,” he said.
Mayor of Roseau Cecil Joseph has also weighed in on the issue.
“We need to have a health check every three months. Illness hits at anytime. One of my main reasons for this is to ensure that the people of the city develop a healthy lifestyle,” he said of the work of the club described as the brainchild of the Roseau City Council.
We are changing our tradition, giving it up for what we perceive to be better because of all the advertisement and follow-fashionism.
We give up our fruits for soda
Give up our local for for pizza and KFC chiken.
I use to feel bad when I had to occasionally eat roast plantain instead of bread to go to school, but now I know better. I proudly eat my plantain in my office here in the US, and leave the KFC an McDonalds as last choice.
Growing up there were only a handful of obese people, but now I see so many huge Dominicans. Something needs to change – a change back to our traditional cuisine.
leave the western imported food alone. no to kfc no to pizza hut. it brings nothing but unhealthy bodies and death. get back to local food walk and things will be fine
Really? The government allowed KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway and all those other Junk Food Giants to come to the Island to poison Dominicans….and failed to work with our local farmers and you guys are surprised? I live in America and drive 40 miles to the Caribbean Market to buy dasheen, fig, pumpkin and mangoes when they are in season to feed my family. In the summer I plant every vegetable imaginable (IN AMERICA) so I can avoid eating American Garbage, and Dominicans think that local food is not beneath them.
The consequences of eating that trashy garbage are severe. Take heed my people..go back to the land and eat like we did not so long ago.
Boycott the FAST FOOD (FULL OF SALT) DEVILS.
Sorry..I meant local food is beaneth them.
It is true that we have seen an upsurge of all the chronic non communicable diseases of which hypertension and obesity are members. Although records have shown that women more than men are stricken with such conditions, we need to note that more women seek medical attention hence their results will be recorded and reported on. On the other hand more of our men fail to attend medical clinics hence the reason for minimal reports on the quantity of them stricken with such illnesses. We must note however that more men suffer from complications of these diseases such as heart diseases, strokes, and even death. Sadly to say though that men will quickly seek medical care when it is most often too late, while a female may hurry to doctors/nurses as soon as they feel any discomfort, men will wait and see until it is too late to save them. I suggest we make medical care more men friendly by meeting the men on the sports field to do random screening for them. It will be surprising how many hypertensives and obesities will respond. We also need to target our younger folks who think they are too pretty to die. We may need to make health care more attractive to them by having special programs for them. The children are a good target group for these conditions since we need to begin from that young age group. Bring the education to schools, encourage exercise for all ages. Again people let us go back to the old times when we use to plant our back yard gardens and eat healthy foods without artificial fertilizer. Go back to goat, fowl and cow manure. Just a small space in any yard can accommodate some lettuce. Isn’t this economical also? We can do it people let us start somewhere. In addition work places can encourage exercise by allowing at least half hour/week just for exercise. More people will try as much as walking, which I think will help.
It is not a surprise, more than half of the advertisement on this web site are fast foods, that is what happen when we go the faster way, and exercise less. I remember when people walked a lot in Dominica. Check the USA and that is a major problem. This can be changed, and I hope that those who see the weight gain coming on will ask themselves a question.
u don’t need a gym to work out….what ever happened to belle marche??? or hiking? diving? swimming….we always boasting about our activities and y’all have all dem tourists doing it…go swimming in a river on a weekend or go hike up to boiling lake…gym is a concept for countries that don’t have natural resources….no need to go pay gym dues and run on a treadmill when u can run around a savannah
Put a tax on all fatty foods.
“Mayor of Roseau Cecil Joseph has also weighed in on the issue”…
DNO I like that one…better than losing sleep over whatever..
When we stop cooking, and walking that’s what will happen, some of us, are too lazy we depend to much on transportation, my GOD,in another five or ten years i believe the life expectancy in our beautiful Island Dominica, will be very short, because of plain greedy and laziness.
Get rid of all your fast foods, people are lazy, and don’t want to cook.
Woo hoo I second that,my centiments exactly!
I know some people who are obese and they do not eat fast foods…they however eat a lot of bread, pasta and like their drinks with a lot of sugar. Their meals at any given time can feed 3. They eat absolutely no vegetables but will eat tons of coconut cheese, tambrine balls and the likes. Exercise to them is picking you a plate.
There are some who eat the so-called fast foods and exercise and they are not obese.
actually anything with a lot of sugar which includes bread btw, is fast food
This story could be better written. Firstly, the word is ‘lost’ and not ‘loss’. Secondly, mention is made of the ‘club’, the brain child of Cecil Joseph, but, no mention of the name of the Club or what it does. Please reveiw and rewrite.
From reading the story I saw the club was named the “Nuro Science Club of the Ross University School of Medicine.”
Maybe “loss” was a typo all of us do, but it looked like it has been corrected.
Unless I am totally blind.
lol
My bad
what…you are the great defender or what?
I don’t thing the neuro club at Ross is Mr. Joseph brain child… that club always existed
@holla it is the brain child of the roseau city council,what,are you underestimating cecil joseph,i know this brother from small,he ain’t no dummy,he is a secondery school graduate,you’all need to stop braketing people that you’all no nothing about.
Come to gym and work it all out. We get rid of all the fat we going insane with our workout. Price is good come fit into that dress or pants again. Get rid of fat in your stomach and tighten up your butt.
Provide the name of the gym and give more info in terms of costs. The gym alone cannot work.. it must be done in conjuction with good or healthy eating habits. More grains, beans, peas, vegetables, fruits and water. Cutting back on all that is white (flour, sugar, pasta — starch).
We need proper facilities to workout. Since the advent of cheap automobile, our people have stop walking. However, the situation with our parks, sidewalks and playground does not help encourage people to do workkout. These facilities are needed to keep us ageing gracefully, and help keep our blood pressure in check. Let’s start by improving and putting amenities in public places.
Do we really need a Mayor? or a President for that matter? They seem to be there just to receive a salary.
Dominicans who are unhealthy in this capacity fail to manage their lifestyles.
Lord, help our people come out from the pits of ignorance.