BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Jan.21. 2018 – SENIOR Health Minister, Hon. Eugene Hamilton wants to see students be more physically active in schools, as more students are found to be borderline diabetic.
Hamilton, during an SKNVibes interview, explained that the problem could be a case where students are not getting the requisite exercise needed.
During an SKNVibes interview in 2017, Dr. Reginald O’Loughlin of the St. Kitts Diabetes Association revealed that during their visits to primary schools around the island, they found a number of students being borderline diabetic.
That is a concern for the Association and health officials across the country, since there is a wider diabetic problem among the older generation.
The Minister reminded that in his school days they were very active, however, now students are stuck with doing a large number of subjects which may not give them the opportunity to be very active. - while some refuse to participate in the annual sports day activities.
Hamilton explained that they have, at the level of the Agriculture Ministry, embarked on a number of school projects.
Those projects he noted, encourage schools to produce foods that they can consume.
“One of the things we are trying to do is ensure that the school meals benefit the students. The goods that we produce locally are used, and to ensure they (children) use less saturated fat and less foods that can fuel diabetes.”
But he reiterated that “if a child gets sufficient exercise and be restricted on the things that they eat, there should not be such or an early onset of diabetes”.
He disclosed that the answer to what could be done to assist students to fight off diabetes, lies in “exercise and eating less fatty foods”.
Combating the problem is one of the areas that regional governments have focused their attention, and it was one of the topics up for discussion at the 2017 Regional heads of Government Conference, in St. Georges, Grenada.
Just recently, former Chief Medical Officer, Patrick Martin had called for parents to take their children’s health seriously.
He and other health officials had called for a ban to be placed on fatty and other unhealthy food that are marketed to children.
