Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 30, 2006: In commemoration of Caribbean Nutrition Day, children are being encouraged to bring a fruit to school as part of their mid-morning snack on, Thursday, June 01, 2006.
Adults are also being encouraged to eat healthy, by adding fruit and vegetables to their diet and becoming involved in some sort of physical activity, on Caribbean Nutrition Day, this Thursday.
St. Kitts and Nevis, as a member country of the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), is joining the organization and other member countries in celebrating Caribbean Nutrition Day under the theme: "Healthy Eating and Active Living." The objectives are: to promote healthy eating by including increased consumption of fruits and to encourage walking as a means of increasing physical activity.
According to information provided by the Ministry of Health, St. Kitts and Nevis has good reason to support these two lifestyle strategies of healthy eating and physical activity, for several studies done in the Federation show that there is much need for them.
The 2005, Adolescent Overweight Survey of 2005 conducted by CFNI and the Ministry of Health found that only 16 percent of children eat fruit daily while the St. Kitts Chronic Disease Survey of 2000 discovered that over 60 percent of men and almost 70 percent of women were overweight.
The Diet and Exercise Survey done in 2002 concluded that 33 percent of the sample size population was overweight while 30 percent was obese. To fall in the category of overweight persons one has to have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 and to be obese, one must have a BMI of 30 to 39.9. BMI is calculated by dividing one's weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. Charts with the completed calculation can be found at the Ministry of Health and Health Centres around the island.
The Ministry of Health encourages residents to eat fruit and vegetables and exercise on Caribbean Nutrition Day since this can be the start of lifestyle change that can lead to increased longevity, good health as well as reduction of disease.
