President of the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados, Dru Symmonds, addressing the congregation of St Matthias Anglican Church yesterday. (RC)

by TREVOR YEARWOOD

WORRIED ABOUT OBESITY and other unhealthy signs among the very young, the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados is taking its "healthy lifestyles" messages to primary schools soon.

"We will be teaching primary school students about good dietary habits and giving them other heart-healthy information," president of the foundation, Dru Symmonds, said yesterday.

He made the comment in an interview with the DAILY NATION after a brief address to the congregation at St Matthias Anglican Church in Hastings, Christ Church, where the foundation was marking the start of Heart Week with a service.

Starting with five primary schools this term, with the idea of expanding the programme, the foundation will be promoting the avoidance of too much salt and too many fatty things in the diet; eating regularly but not necessarily too much; eating more healthy foods; and the importance of exercise.

It has taken the message to secondary schools, with limited success. "When we started out previously in the secondary schools, we did precisely the same things, but there was so much competition at that level with so many other things that it didn't meet with the level of success that we wanted," Symmonds admitted.

"Clearly, where we need to start is with the primary schools, where you get the children . . . when they are less pressured, when they are more impressionable."

The thinking is that if children become aware of the things they need to avoid, they will then impress upon their parents what they prefer and influence healthy lifestyle changes.

Symmonds described obesity as a major problem in Barbados.

"We find in Barbados there is a high degree of obesity, at all levels, including primary level," he said. "So we want to encourage children to be aware of their good health by being more agile, participating more in sports, and . . . eating (right).

"If they become aware of the problems, they will avoid those things which are going to contribute to overweight and they will at the same time make it a point to engage in exercise, which is also very important for heart health."

Symmonds linked obesity to factors including a greater dependence of working mothers and fathers on fast-food outlets to prepare their meals, and the heavy grease content of those meals.

While some restaurants offer more healthy meals, there was still "a fair amount of very heavy grease content in the preparation" of some fast-foods, he noted.

One of the challenges of having a healthy diet was listed as the high cost of fruits and vegetables.

"Perhaps we need to be sure that all of the players in the market are doing everything they can to make the ingredients for healthy living more accessible," he suggested.

Another challenge was creating an extensive healthy school canteen menu that would have a very wide appeal for schools.

"Often canteen operators are willing (to change menus) and they do try their best more often than not, but very often they have, like any other commercial people, to provide what the children want.

"If you have only a particular regime of menu, children won't eat it. Therefore the children suffer and the canteen operator, who is on a concession, suffers."

The Heart & Stroke Foundation was launched last April, upgrading the Heart Foundation of Barbados, formed 21 years ago.

Symmonds told the congregation that heart diseases remained the major cause of death and disability across the world.

Against this backdrop, he said it was important for Barbadians to take charge of their lives and do what was right: avoid smoking as well as fatty and salty foods; eat lots of vegetables and fruits; and exercise regularly.

He welcomed progress made in the area of smoking, with Government reported to be seeking a smoking ban for the 2007 Cricket World Cup and planning to take drafted legislation to Parliament soon to ban smoking in
public places.

"If you consider the amount of money that is being spent by Government on health care in remedying the effects of diseases which have been caused by smoking, then really and truthfully, we need to pursue this most vigourously and relentlessly," Symmonds asserted.

trevoryearwood@nationnews.com