A health official from the United States says he is concerned that a significant percent of Dominica’s population is overweight and obese.
The concern was raised by clinical psychologist, Dr. Colin King, who is currently on the island to conduct a Health Symposium on the Prevention and Management of Obesity.
According to him Dominica’s population is just over 67,000 and it is estimated that about 56 percent of the population is overweight and 24 percent obese.
“This means that 80 percent of the population has potential health problems. It is a real concern when you look at dieting and lifestyle. If you don’t change some of those things, we are looking at problems,” he said.
Dr. King says he is also concerned about obesity among the nation’s young children.
“One of the things we notice with childhood obesity is that our diet has changed over the years. Kids lunch boxes are now packed with processed sugary and salty foods that are taken to schools,” he pointed out.
He said children no longer walk to school hence the reason for the growing problem.
The symposium is part of a collaboration between the Seventh Day Adventist East Caribbean Conference and the Dominica SDA Secondary School.
Director of the obesity (Pediatric) clinic at the University of Michigan, Dr. Susan Woolford will also form part of the discussion.
In 2011 a World Bank-funded study revealed Dominica has the highest obesity prevalence in the Eastern Caribbean and in 2010 Dominica was ranked 11 of the 20 most obese countries on earth by the World Health Organization.
The symposium will be held on Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm under the theme: “How to Tip The Scale in Your Favour.”
Journey with Akeso is here to help. It’s all a matter of changing of lifestyle. Learning the dangers of things like high fructose corn syrup, aspartame and everything processed is usually an eye opener. It’s time to return to nature. Enjoy local foods instead of stuff imported from the USA. Get out and exercise a bit. Love yourselves!
everybody metabolism is different draw ur own conclusions
Mr Minister please increase the taxes on those un healthy drinks and foods that are dominating our supermarkets in order to fuss our people to eat local.
My people start making use of the guavas,limes, seetsop,carambola ect that are wasting in the country.
The Health Professionals cannot convince anyone when they themselves are so fat and overweight. looking like gallon bottles. I just hate to see a fat,obese nurse,doctor, PS in health. Even a fat teacher and police turns me off. Satan cannot correct sin. That is one of the problems. Let us lead by example. nurses come on man
I have always wondered at that…so many of our health professionals are themselves obese. having said that though, each person is responsible for their health. Those of us who know better should do better.
Confession: I’m a foreigner. Anyway, so my work makes it so that I walk A LOT through Dominica’s rugged terrain. I also play sports in my spare time. I eat fig and lean parts of chicken (people, please stop thinking that frozen chicken is automatically bad for you, because it’s not necessarily the case. The skin and fat on ANY chicken IS bad for you if you do nothing but watch SAT all day). I drink jeli. While being in Dominica, I’ve lost some fat weight and gained muscle weight. When I walk through a village, people say, “you coming fat”. And I look at these people who more than half the time have BMIs well above normal, and then I look at my toned frame, and I am at a loss for words. WTF? You know who I listen to instead of those people? The totally RIPPED dudes who come out from the bush with their cutlass, with a conta on their back, and a bag of dashin on their head. The fishermen who can pull in a blue marlin with their hands. And yes, sometimes even the people called “paros” who, despite working willy nilly and sometimes having a problem with crack cocaine, are fitter specimens than most of the people who rebuke them. WAKE UP AND EXERCISE.
Dominicans also have to consider the ground produce such as dasheen, yams and green bananas have a high content of carbohydrates; therefore portion control is recommended. Yes we do need carbohydrates for extra energy but consuming too much can be detrimental to our health. Carbohydrates metabolizes into sugar and it is distributed throughout our cells in the body. Extra carbohydrates are then converted to glycogen or fatty acids and are stored as fat in our body. This is the reason why obesity is on a rise in Dominica.
It is very sad to see how Dominicans patronize artery clogging franchises, originated from the USA. These types of franchise are only found in the poverty areas in the US especially New York. We are blessed with fertile soil to grow our fresh fruits and vegetables which are very beneficial to our health.
I hope this matter is taken seriously and the obesity ratings goes down. Our people need learn more on the benefits of nutrition.
Another solution stop buying too many cars and walk. The last time I visited Dominica, the place was cluttered with vehicles. We are equipped with the hills and mountains to keep fit.
It is time that our people wake-up and take better care of themselves. There is a lot of talk here about the food that we eat, this is obviously one part of the puzzle. I think we need a total change of mentality and need to take more personal interest in our health and well being.
Our women need to stop misinterpreting when men say “girl you thick and I love that,” to “girl he say he like me fat”. Our men need to stop flattering themselves and calling their big belly “tool sheds” because everyone knows there’s no tool in that shed.
We need to walk, bike, play outside, jog to the beach in the morning to listening to the waves and exercise a lot more than we do now. There needs to be a comprehensive educational program by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, as it relates to our young children, about the benefits of a proper diet, exercise and healthy lifestyles.
In the initial stages, it may cost, but the benefits in the end will far out way the cost. Healthy lifestyle transfers to less diseases which are related to Obesity, which will in turn be less stress/cost on the medical system.
Remember moderation is the key in everything we do in life…All the food groups are essential, we have enough local produce so that we can avoid all the chemically enhanced produces.
Go Natural Dominicans….Let’s get back to “All for each and each for All,” and be our brothers keeper.
One Love Dominicans
Greedy to eat everyone and lazy to exercise is the two significant factors contributing to obesity.
when I’m in Dominica all I want to drink (apart from rum) is fresh grapefruit juice. what’s with all the imports? You’ve already got the best!
Seriously. This is the greatest mystery to me. I go to Town and it is harder for me to find local juice than a disgusting “Busta”.
those cows that like KFC
I’m interested in knowing if the chicken served at KFC is home grown. If not where is it imported from?
Hey fatty boom boom ,big sugar dumpling. As the song goes
The solution is simple, close Kentucky and Pizza and go back to our original way of life, children to walk to school, too many vehicles on the island.
I agree something has to be done to arrest this current situation. However, why is it so much more costly to buy local poducts and produce? Realistically speaking, is it practical to think that every family in Dominica can sustain themselves with backyard gardening? I’d welcome some discussion on this.
Do something to help us dr king we need a. Camp 4 ppl let me who wants 2 lose weight cause I really want 2 get ride of it nothin I try works
I was just home and Quenchy is pure sugar….Fruta has close to 50grams of sugar. There is a huge problem and agree with this article. The next issue that needs to be addresed is alcoholism. Let us save the youth.
Dominicans in New York also better take heed. The women in Neew York too fat.
Well said, Rabbit Foot!
When it comes to them woman, the family planning stuff have a lot to do with them, some of them think it is such a good thing, but what they need to realize, with that fat Axx comes a lot of sickness,
I totally agree. People are eating too many junk food. Furthermore, people don’t like to walk and exercise anymore, I see people taking buses to reach short little distances that could have just been a five minute walk.
The problem dear people is very simple.
The people who sell the most imported junk, are the wealthiest group of people on island, selling all the junk in the world to the poorest people on island.
They dont eat it themselves. They eat local and a higher grade of foreign, and leave the rest of you to die from the junk.
The junk is relatively cheap, making it easy to consume in a country in which poverty is normal.
The government cant say no to the cheap junk posse because they get funded by these very same people come election time.
So eat your patties, frozen burgers, your 6 month old frozen meat, your pizza, drink your busta and energy sugar drinks and bathe in ignorance.
Someone mentioned fruta above as a healthy drink. The only person a fruta is healthy for is the person that selling it. Its healthy for their pocket. Fruta is just a nicer name than Busta.
Of course people didnt take notice recently when a local business entity lobbied to have imported fruit juices get lower duties. Its how we roll in Dominica.
Instead of making it prohibitively expensive to import the poison, they are making it cheaper.
Then the same Government turns around and says we have an obesity problem.
Dominica. The land where everything stays the same and everyone likes it so.
Very well said dont forget that Kentucky poison
Wow!W.H.O. 2010 reported that Dominica ranked 11th of 20 most obese countries on earth. The World Bank study simply magnifies the previous year report. No surprise what-so-ever. Anyone who has been away and visits D/ca every two/three years, can testify to the obesity that’s becoming a way of life for many on the island. It is alarming because we are known throughout the region as a healthy people, with lots of fresh water and fresh food. But a lack of exercise and poor eating habits will certainly change all that as we are currently experiencing. I hope this a wake-up call that’s not too late. Take heed my people, take heed!
We have also taking an aversion to exercise. When I was at school we walked from Goodwill to all the schools in Roseau. Now I see St. Martin’s school children taking bus from as close as Green’s Lane even though the bus putting them down in Lagoon. What’s up with that? Let the children walk.
The child will get sweaty? Sweaty my foot. You used to reach school sweaty? They used to make us stop watching TV. Go to bed early. Wake up early, leave home early and take our time and walk to school. Remember? And nothing like soft drink and cookies for recess. Is your juice in a bottle and bread and butter or something. How many fattyboof children you knew when you were growing up?
Too Hard Too Long: «They used to make us stop watching TV. Go to bed early. Wake up early, leave home early and take our time and walk to school. Remember?»
Yeah, greater sense of discipline was instilled then. Now, the word is «free-up.» So, little control on what is consumed and how.
No one wants to eat the good of the land anymore. Sodas, processed food, mac & cheese. Dominicans think it is a priviledge to eat like the Americans when in fact they are priviledged to have home grown ORGANIC products right in their backyards which they ignore.
From Genesis and beyond, humans have been gravitating toward that which “kills”. Go back to eating the “good’ of the land and stop mimicking what you see on T.V. All that glitters is not gold.
Yup, they don’realize they are absolutely blessed with organic. I live in NY and only purchase organic foods for my family. It’s very sad people don’t listen. They complain they are diabetic, they are sick but they are not willing to do what’s right for their bodies. Is it laziness? Or are they awaiting some magic pill? People are always on a diet but they don’t realize these short term diets won’t work. It’s a matter of understanding the dangers of the processed foods, and loving themselves enough to stop wanting to make the changes and actually go ahead and make them.
Thank you Dr. King. Rasta has been proclaiming that for tens of years and no one takes heed. It takes a foreigner to have you all accept this message but it’s not too late for the younger ones. Fast food translates to poison food, loaded with unnatural sugars and processed salt. My motto is “if you can’t pronounce the ingredience on the label, don’t eat it.”
they wont take it from you my friend,you are a local but they dont even know if Dr king is a ex con he just have to wear a tie and they will believe anything he says
No, they won’t listen to anything Dr. King says, either.
Well, was there recently and all you hear is “Fat and Nice” to the obesed ones. However, when you’re skinny they wonna say that u’re sick suffering from some illness…wow
Omg some of them really do need a reality check weightwise!
well i believe wi because Dominican’s think the fatter you are the healthier u are
Sot nous vini sot.Obese women are a health hazard to their man/husband as are obese men to their wives/girlfriends. Maybe we haven’t understood the cost of health care.Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure are the things we face every day.Sisters and brothers we can and must do better than that.Anous pas fait soteh coutez nous la vie nous.Let your food be your medicine not your killer.Have you read the label on that can of processed food?
Venue??
Dominica has the best food on the planet, yet the new generation of Dominicans prefer to eat the crap they see on television. That stuff will kill you people. Seriously! And for all the Dominican women who think that having a spare tire around your middle section is sexy – IT IS NOT. Being a so called “thickers” is another way of saying you are TOO FAT! Wake up!
somebody is spoiling the meaning of thickers. thickers suppose to be ladies with thick well toned legs and butt and small waiste flat abs,small upper body, not muffin tops.
YES! THIS! Thick and toned IS good, but FAT AND SOGGY is bad.
This symposium is welcomed, wish I was there to attend. Our people need to take heed. We have sufficient healthy foods and we are bent on the processed food. I am guilty of that and i’m trying my best to go th natural way inspite of the negative forces infiltrating our country at this time. “The bad fast foods”
Dr.King thank you so much.thefamilies that are abroad send all this process food for them.the government could start by putting some heft taxes on the sodas.we have so many fruits in dominica and no one wants to drink them anymore.exercise is needed more @ the schools also.
I agree with you. In these hard times, it’s so much cheaper to buy a bottle of Coke than it is to buy local juice or a Fruta.
Being healthy is more expensive, and that’s the case worldwide, not just Dominica. Unhealthy foods and drinks should be taxed heavier and healthy foods and drinks should be subsidized to make it cheaper for the consumer.
FRUTA IS NOT HEALTHY! STOP THINKING IT IS!