By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIANS are eating themselves into an early grave, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said yesterday, noting that more than 70 percent of the population is overweight.

He gave the sober news as he presented the results of the 2019 STEPS Survey. The report found that the Bahamas is overwhelmingly an “unhealthy nation”.

“Our risk for premature deaths, disabilities and health complications due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) remains high,” the Ministry of Health reiterated in a press release. “Our eating habits, beverage and lifestyle choices continue to keep us ranked as one of the heaviest and unhealthiest nations.”

Dr Sands underscored the impact of the nation’s poor eating habits on the country’s health.

Since 2005, the number of Bahamians who have high cholesterol has increased seven-fold or by 644 per cent. There has also been a 26 percent increase in the population with diabetes.

He added 38 percent of the population has high blood pressure and doesn’t know it and two in five Bahamians have three or more NCD risk factors and less than one per cent has no NCD risk factors.

The survey, which assessed health habits and risk factors for NCDs, was carried out in three components from January to April. For the survey, 3,840 Bahamians, ages 18-69, from New Providence and six Family Islands were polled.

Dr Sands revealed the findings in a press conference held yesterday.

“For the first time in the history of our national development, we can report on dietary salt intake,” Dr Sands said. “And the news is grim. On average, each of us consumes 10.5 grams of salt or five grams of sodium everyday.

“This is almost three times the recommended two grams. Yet, 67 percent of the population believes they eat just the right amount of salt. STEPS 2019 underscores that perception does not match reality.

“Adding insult to injury, STEPS 2019 revealed that 60 percent of us add two or more spoons of sugar to our tea and coffee; 32 percent of us eat ‘sweets’ three or more times per week; and 92 percent of Bahamians drink one to three cans of a sugary beverage every single day.

“What this boils down to in simple terms is, in a one-year span, the average Bahamian consumes 64 pounds of added or discretionary sugar. The US Department of Agriculture in a 2015 study estimated that the average adult American consumed 52 pounds of added sugar each year.”

Dr Sands noted this “propensity for sweet” is not matched by the nation’s daily water intake nor fruit and vegetable intake.

Less than 50 percent of Bahamians drink the recommended eight or more glasses of water each day, “although water is readily accessible, relatively affordable and available as no-cost substitutes on many fast food menus,” the health minister noted.

Additionally, only 15 percent of the populations eats the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables.

“It is not surprising then that the Bahamas continues to rank among the fattest nations in the region of the Americas and on planet Earth. With 71.6 percent of Bahamians overweight, our little nation almost doubles that of the global prevalence, which sits at 39 percent.”

Dr Sands also said: “In truth, we predominantly view NCDs and their risk factors as externalities – as things that affect them and not me; and that they are collateral damage for the elderly not those in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.

“One in 12 of us over the age of 40 will have a stroke or heart attack in the next ten years,” he added. Dr Sands also noted the cost of such health problems.

“A 1990 study published in the Stroke Journal estimated the lifetime cost per person of a first stroke was $103,576. Extrapolating from these figures, the hospital cost for stroke management for one in 12 Bahamians can easily approach $250m.

“This is just for one disease condition. Prevention is certainly better than cure; and more cost effective too – not just healthcare cost, but productivity and social costs.”

Dr Sands also underscored his ministry’s response to this “NCD burden” has not been “haphazard” but instead been “targeted and intentional”, as listed in its strategy and plan of action for NCDs, named “Wellness in the Nation 2017-2022”, which was operationalised in 2018.

“My ministry continues to make available to the public primary care services for health preservation and maintenance,” Dr Sands said. “That is, we provide doctors and nurses to ensure the public has opportunities to get annual screenings and arrest problems before they arise; and if a problem does arise, to partner with you in managing it.

“My ministry has recommended revisions to the breadbasket to ensure healthier food options are price-protected.”