Sir Ronald Sanders is a business executive and former Caribbean diplomat who publishes widely on small states in the global community. Reponses to: ronaldsanders29@hotmail.com

This message is being spread with almost messianic zeal by Dr Fitzroy Henry, the Director of the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) based in Jamaica.

I first heard Dr Henry speak in London about six years ago when he described, persuasively and powerfully, how a very large number of Caribbean people were killing themselves by abandoning their traditional foods for junk foods imported from outside, and by the change in their life styles which contained little physical exercise.

I met him again in early July and spent a couple of hours on an airplane becoming increasingly troubled by the situation in the region as he described it.

Dr Henry is no wild-eyed fanatic.  A former lecturer at one of the most prestigious universities in the United States, he worked for the UN in underdeveloped countries in Asia before returning to the Caribbean to head CFNI.

If anything, over the years, Dr Henry has become more passionate and more determined to warn Caribbean people that they are causing their own premature deaths.  He has also become quite fierce in his desire to see Caribbean governments implement policies that will help people to make the right choices about food and exercise.   

The problems he identifies require urgent attention from governments, trade unions and the business community throughout the region, or many more people will die unnecessarily and even more money will be spent treating diseases that could be prevented in many cases.  

The figures are alarming.  There is, for instance, a rising trend in deaths caused by diabetes particularly among women.  Between 1985 and 2000, available figures show a 30 percent rise in the number of women who have died of diabetes.  Over the same period, the increase in the number of men who have died from diabetes is over 25 percent.

Deaths from hypertensive disease have also shown an increasing trend.  There was a 10 percent increase in the deaths of women between 1985 and 2000, and 9 percent increase in the deaths of men.

In the case of diabetes, there are two types.  Some persons are born with the disease and it is then described as “Type 1”.  Late on set diabetes is called “Type 2”, and it arises largely from lifestyle.

Persons, who eat unsuitable foods and have very little or no exercise, end up with Type 2 diabetes, generated by overweight or obesity.

And, the trends in overweight amongst adults are even more troubling.  

Between the 1970s and 1990s, overweight males in the Caribbean rose by 15% and overweight females by 37%.

In part, this trend to overweight is attributable to the progress that Caribbean nations have made economically. Better road systems and more motor vehicles have drastically reduced the numbers of people who, prior to the 1970s, walked or rode a bicycle to work or to social activities.  The exercise, that was a necessary part of everyday life, has diminished considerably.  

Leisure activities, such as watching television for long hours, and sedentary forms of employment have also contributed to overweight.  

Added to these factors is the changing pattern of food consumption particularly sugars and fats. 

In the early 1960s, Caribbean people were already consuming higher levels of sugars in their food than was safe for their health.  Over the period 1961 to 2003, except for a brief two-year period from 1991 to 1993, the consumption of sugar in food escalated dramatically and is now at its highest levels so far.  Undoubtedly, this is due to the introduction of fast food restaurants and the promotion of fast foods on imported television.

The same observation is true of fats.  Trends in fat consumption have jumped from an acceptable level in the late 1960’s to a dangerously high level by 2003.

Worryingly, the proportion of imported foods containing fats and sugars has increased far beyond locally produced foods.  In other words, the Caribbean is spending precious foreign exchange earnings on imported food that is contributing significantly to the ruining of their health.

Conversely, locally grown fruits and vegetables are increasingly being omitted from the Caribbean diet.  Thus, Caribbean people are not only denying themselves the nutritious benefits of fresh fruit and vegetables, they are also helping to make their farming community and their own economies poorer.

Dr Henry makes the telling point that “the Caribbean region spends well over US$1.5 billion annually on food imports”.   That money maintains farmers and creates jobs in developed countries and contributes to the profits of ancillary services industries such as transport, ports, and shipping insurance.   Some of it could be making a vital contribution to wealth creation in Caribbean economies particularly rural communities.

The business community is now losing money and stands to lose much more from the poor attention paid by its employees to food, nutrition and healthy exercise.  Businesses lose money from days of work due to illnesses amongst their employees caused by poor dietary regimes and lack of exercise.  

There is, therefore, an urgent need for new public policy on food and nutrition in the Caribbean.  The policy has to be multifaceted and should marry the interests of health and nutrition to agricultural production and trade policy.

The point is that the trends in what Caribbean people eat, and how much they exercise, are not just about health and nutrition, they are also about fiscal policy, trade policy and education.  And, there should be a holistic approach to the problem.

Governments, the private sector and trade unions can devise agreed public policies that would: promote healthy eating particularly of Caribbean fruit and vegetables; provide incentives to employees who exercise; give gyms tax incentives; tax at a higher rate imported foods that are high in sugars and fats; make daily physical education in primary and secondary schools compulsory .

I have interpreted Dr Henry’s message.  He and the CFNI tell the story much better.  Public and private bodies should listen. The Caribbean would save millions of dollars that are now spent every year combating diseases that are preventable. And, very importantly, tens of thousands of lives would be spared from the effects of obesity.