BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Oct 22, CMC – Barbados is stepping up efforts to tackle childhood obesity and chronic diseases, with new figures showing that 42 per cent of children were overweight or obese in 2026, up from 31 per cent in 2017.
Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman has described the increase as “scary and staggering”, warning that improvements in education and national infrastructure would not be enough to sustain development if the health of the population, particularly young people, was neglected.
Speaking at Wednesday’s launch of the Barbados School Nutrition Policy Recognition Awards, Blackman said health and wellness must remain central to the country’s efforts to modernise its education system and prepare young people for the future.
He also reflected on his own experience with obesity, saying it had reinforced his message to the public.
“I can’t be saying to the nation in one direction that we have an obesity issue. I was obese. That’s a fact,” he said.
Blackman said the country needed to establish the right conditions for children to develop healthy habits and contribute to national progress.
He welcomed private-sector support for school nutrition initiatives but cautioned businesses against using promotional activities and branded merchandise to encourage children to identify with ultra-processed foods.
He said such marketing could undermine the objectives of the school nutrition policy, even when the products being promoted were not consumed on school premises.
Blackman called for a wider national effort involving individuals, families and communities to change attitudes and practices that contribute to unhealthy lifestyles.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Lisa Cummins announced that Cabinet had approved a national screening campaign for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and a digital life course dashboard intended to help people monitor their health information over time.
She said the Ministry of Agriculture would also be involved to ensure a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to addressing the country’s health challenges.
The digital system will initially focus on children in schools, linking early dietary habits and health information to later-life outcomes. It aims to replace reliance on paper-based records, including traditional child health green books, with a system that allows individuals to securely access and track their medical information from adolescence into adulthood.
“What we’re hoping to be able to do now is a couple of things: one, digitise your medical records so that you own your information, and you always have access to the information concerning your own health,” Cummins said.
She said historical health information could help medical professionals make decisions during routine consultations and emergencies.
Cummins also pointed to the financial and medical consequences of chronic illnesses that are poorly managed, saying the government spends approximately $17.2 million annually on managing chronic NCDs and poorly managed NCDs.
“That has nothing to do with the implications for diabetes management. It has nothing to do with the implications of cardiovascular management in our hospitals. It has nothing to do with the fact that we’re seeing people presenting as adults in our hospitals sicker and later in the stage of their disease,” she added.
The proposed approach is linked to the national school nutrition policy, which addresses food consumed in schools as well as items purchased from outside vendors and concessionaires.
Cummins said children should receive information, in language they can understand, about inherited and family-related risks for conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. This would help them make informed decisions about their health before adulthood.
The framework also includes adolescent health outreach through expanded spaces at polyclinics, supported by medical students at the University of the West Indies, the American University of Barbados and Ross University.
The School Nutrition Policy Recognition Awards, scheduled for December, will recognise schools, principals, teachers and private-sector partners supporting healthier nutrition.
Cummins said the combined approach of early screening, improved nutrition and intervention before illnesses become advanced was intended to reduce the need for hospital treatment.
“If we do our job well, between education and health, and with this life course approach, early screening, nutrition policy, early intervention as opposed to late intervention, our aim is to prevent you from having to go into any of these facilities as much as we can. We want to keep you out,” she said.
CMC/ed/2026