Prioritise health and nutrition in schools

THE EDITOR, Madam:

ONE IN three Jamaicans is hypertensive, and one in eight, diabetic. The Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey (20162017) reported that more than 70 per cent of the population had insufficient resources or access to safe, healthy, and nutritious foods. This is concerning, as overconsumption of nutrients of concern, including salt, fats, and sugar, is a major contributor to the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes and hypertension. Further, the WHO Global School-based Student Health Survey, in 2017, reported that in Jamaica 20 per cent of boys and 26.4 per cent of girls between the ages of 13 and 17 were overweight, and nine per cent of boys and 9.5 per cent of girls in that same age group were obese. In that same year, more than 30,000 children between 10 and 19 were also found to be hypertensive, which is an unusual and alarming trend in children.

School-age children often do not have access to adequate nutrition in school, resulting in them developing poor food habits and eating patterns that can lead to NCDs, whether in their youth or later in adulthood. This further contributes to the monumental burden NCDs place on Jamaica’s public healthcare system.

Most students primarily access food at school, thus the reopening of schools and the exacerbating public health effect of COVID-19 on NCD management and care present a perfect opportunity for a collaborative response from the Ministries of Health and Wellness and education to fix a long-standing issue of poor nutrition in schools. The Ministry of Health, through the recent improvement and expansion of the health systems-strengthening programme, has as an objective to strengthen comprehensive policies for the prevention of NCD risk factors. The I nterim Guidelines on Beverages i n Schools demonstrates how we can use policies and public health legislation to lessen NCD risk factors, but these guidelines are not enough, as they only place a restriction on sugar-sweetened beverages that have a harmful amount of sugar.

NO GUIDELINES

There are no guidelines that speak to ultra-processed food in the schools’ food environment, and the high amounts of nutrients of concern that may be in those products. There are also no guidelines or regulations for the schools’ food environment aimed at reducing rampant marketing and subliminal advertising of food products that have high amounts of sugar, salt, trans and saturated fats.

A U-Report poll, conducted by the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network in June 2021, revealed that Jamaican young people are overwhelmingly in support of the implementation of a range of interventions focused on creating a healthy school food environment. To this end, we call for the finalisation and implementation of the School Nutrition and Wellness Policy, with accompanying standards.

All children and young people should have access to healthy food at school, and should be protected from exposure to a harmful school food environment. School nutrition and wellness policies can create equal access to healthy food for schoolchildren, regardless of where they live, and reduce barriers around affordability of healthy food items.

As we wrap our minds around school reopening, the health and well-being of our children should be at the forefront of the national agenda. Prioritise ensuring that children have access to nutritious meals and do adequate physical activity while at school. This will go a long way in reducing the current risk of our population being seriously affected by NCDs.

JAMAICA YOUTH ADVOCACY NETWORK

advocacy@youthadvocateja.org