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SWITCH IT UP TODAY FOR HEALTHIER CHILDREN TOMORROW
Barbados faces a childhood obesity crisis, with 42 % of children being overweight or obese according to 2022 WHO data. This elevates future risks of type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Children are exposed to widespread marketing of ultra‑processed foods — through branded logos, apparel, sponsorships, and reward vouchers that promote products rich in sugar and unhealthy fats — that promote products high in sugar and unhealthy fats. The Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados’ Childhood Obesity Prevention Programme has launched a public‑awareness campaign to protect schools from unhealthy food marketing and safeguard children’s health.
If children continue to be exposed to messaging that contradicts the pillars of a healthy school environment, our efforts will be in vain. We must take decisive action to protect their wellbeing and ensure that schools remain spaces support lifelong healthy habits. The campaign advocates for urgent action to enforce the prohibition of marketing in schools, as these activities continue to be pervasive even though it is outlined as prohibited within the 2023 Barbados National School Nutrition Policy.
As a country we must act collaboratively to help prevent childhood obesity and reduce the NCD burden. Our children represent Barbados’s future and to have a healthier society, we must protect them from health harms, like those caused by excessive consumption of sugary drinks. We can start by removing sugary drinks and unhealthy foods from schools.
Now more than ever is the time to continue the work started to tackle NCDs with the implementation of Front of Package Warning Labels. Barbados has made significant strides in protecting Barbadians’ Right to Health, with a 20% Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax as of 2022 and the implementation of the National School Nutrition Policy in 2023. However, the World Health Organization names Front of Package Warning Labels as a key policy, to regulate ultra-processed food products.
