A growing problem in the Bahamas

We live in a culture where peas and rice, macaroni and potato salad aren’t considered side dishes–they make the meal. And of course, French fries are as much a part of any fast food order, chicken-in-the-bag or cracked conch serving as sand is part of the beach. Our national drink could easily be soda; not only do we commonly drink it with every meal (including breakfast) but we make it part of our children’s diet as soon as they can hold a can on their own. We would rather throw a few dollars to our kids for school lunch–where the food choices are often frightening–rather than prepare a healthy lunch they can take from home.

Food is important to us; a study found that we spend as much as 62% of our household income on food. But just what kind of food are we spending that money on? Other studies have shown that obesity is a major issue in the Bahamas, with as high as 16 per cent of children under five years of age–even on our more remote islands such as Crooked Island–being obese.

Female adolescents and adults in the Bahamas have the highest incidence of weight concerns, with 20 per cent of females 15-16 years old being overweight and 21.3 per cent of females 15-64 years old being obese and more than 27 per cent overweight. Males are generally not that far behind, statistically speaking.

But in a country that virtually glorifies being overweight (with popular songs such as “Just ‘Cause She Fat”, “Au De Meat” and “Fat Gals”) how can we expect anything else?

Speaking of fast food, when will our outlets stop penalising us for making better choices? We recently ordered a Burger King combo, requesting water rather than the soda option; instead of paying around $5.00 for a meal that includes a soda, the combo meal totaled over $8.00–all because we’d rather skip the calories and sodium overdose in a soda. Talk about discouraging better choices.

Of course, there are many Bahamians that exercise, monitor their carbohydrate and calorie intake, restrict their food portions and make better choices in their general diet and lifestyle. But until it becomes something that we encourage at all levels of our society, it will be something that we will pay dearly for in the future.

~ejr~