Non-communicable diseases. Lifestyle diseases. Co-morbidities. These aren’t just words; covid19 has put these serious, sometimes deadly issues on the front burner. Epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds recently confirmed that hypertension and diabetes are the most common co-morbidities observed in people who have died of covid19.
Researchers have, on several occasions, noted the correlation between NCDs and poor lifestyle habits. Tobacco and alcohol consumption, unhealthy eating and inactivity, can lead to several conditions, including obesity which contributes notably heart disease and diabetes and others.
In the 1970s the Caribbean was the envy of the western hemisphere when it came to health and healthy eating. Studies showed that in the 70s the Caribbean people were among the healthiest in the world, with an obesity level of less than ten per cent and low prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
But in the 1990’s the prevalence of non-communicable diseases skyrocketed. For example, diabetes went from a prevalence of 1.3 per cent in the 1970s to 13 per cent in, the 1990s.
The region went from infections being the leading cause of death at that time to non-communicable diseases being the leading cause of mortality, with diabetes being listed in the top three causes in most countries in the region.
Locally the picture is similar. A study done in 2017 by the Ministry of Health indicated that NCDs were the leading cause of death for people in Trinidad and Tobago.
At a national food system webinar hosted by the United Nations, participants were told that NCDs do not only impact on lives, they also put a strain on the nation’s gross domestic product, costing the country billions of dollars
According to the Ministry of Health’s national strategic plan for prevention of NCDs, heart disease, diabetes and cancer are the three leading causes of death in TT. NCDs accounted for 62 per cent of all deaths in TT for 2015. While crime claimed 410 lives in 2015, heart disease killed 2,673 people, accounting for 25 per cent of all deaths in TT that year. Diabetes accounted for 14 per cent, and cancer 13 per cent. Overall, 6,629 people died from NCDs in 2015.
During the webinar, health economist Karl Theodore described obesity as “rampant” in TT.
“What you have is an obesity problem that has an exponential increase and that is something that we have to be concerned about,” Theodore said.
The ministry’s strategic plan noted that approximately 55 per cent of people in TT are either overweight, with a body mass index of 25 to 29.9, or obese, with a BMI of over 30. The ideal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9.
The strategic plan noted that obesity disproportionately affects women, with a 32 per cent prevalence of being overweight and a 32 per cent prevalence of obesity, as compared to 40 per cent prevalence in men for being overweight and a 19 per cent prevalence of obesity. The action plan also indicated that 24 per cent of the school-aged children were also either obese or overweight.
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