THE number of obese persons in Jamaica has increased by five per cent over the past eight years, despite local efforts to curb the unhealthy trend, which is fuelling the rise in chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.

According to the latest data from the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey II 2007-2008, 25 per cent of the population is obese compared to 19.7 per cent eight years ago.

"It is statistically significant.the prevalence is moreso in the women than the men," Professor Rainford Wilks, director of the Epidemiology Research Unit at the University of the West Indies (UWI), said last Thursday at a meeting to disseminate the data from the survey at the Mona Visitors' Lodge in St Andrew.

"We know that obesity drives chronic disease and therefore the one thing that we can do to reduce the prevalence is to reduce obesity. It is part of a worldwide trend so I am not surprised [that figure has increased], but I am despaired because one would hope that we would have at least held the situation," he told the Observer.

"We have enough reservoir of these people already. To be increasing that reservoir only means that down in the year you're going to be increasing the hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes."

According to the survey, women are more obese than men, with 37.3 per cent versus 12.3 per cent respectively.

The survey that was conducted between November 2007 and April 2008, included 2,898 respondents aged 15-74 years.

Obesity is defined as an excessively high amount of body fat in relation to lean body mass. According to the survey, waist circumference and waist-hip ratio, which are also key components of obesity have also increased in prevalence by 15 and five per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, when it comes to the chronic non-communicable diseases which are associated with being overweight and obesity, the survey revealed that a person who is overweight or obese is two and half times as likely to develop hypertension, when compared to a person who is of normal weight.

As for diabetes, an obese or overweight person is twice as likely to develop this disease, while an obese or overweight person is three times likely to get high cholesterol.

As for the statistics relating to hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol, Professor Wilks said while the number of diabetics in Jamaica remained stable, moving from 7.2 to 7.9, hypertension and pre-hypertension has increased from 21 per cent to 25 per cent and 30 per cent to 35 per cent respectively. The number of persons with high cholesterol has declined, dropping from 15 per cent to 12 per cent.

The figures are more alarming when broken down further as it shows that 36 per cent of Jamaicans 15 to 74-years-old had at least one disease, while 30 per cent had two or more.

"Approximately 150,000 Jamaican in this age band have diabetes mellitus and one quarter have high blood pressure," said the study.

The study also pointed out that half the persons with hypertension were aware of their condition, while three quarters of the persons with diabetes knew about their condition. There were also slight increases in the treatment and control rates over an eight-year period.

On the other hand, dietary intake as well physical inactivity plays a major role in the development of cardiovascular diseases, Professor Wilks said.

"The data suggest that dietary intakes are important in the management of these chronic non-communicable diseases," Professor Wilks said, adding that how food is prepared is an important prevention tactic. 

When it comes to the method of cooking, 33.9 per cent of the population fry foods, while 41 stew their food. Only 10 per cent bake and 4.9 per cent steam, which are recommended as the healthier ways of preparing food.
At the same time, the data also revealed that more than 80 per cent of Jamaicans consume fast food less than once per week or none at all.

Additionally, three quarters or more of Jamaicans consumed one or more bottles of sweetened beverage per day.  

As for physical activity, the data shows that almost twice as many persons reported being inactive in 2008 compared to 2000 -30 per cent versus 17 per cent - and 33 reported high activity in 2008 compared to 47 in 2000. Men are more active than women.

The findings of the survey are expected to inform decisions being made about the Healthy Lifestyle Project, which is currently under review. It is believed that the project has not been as effective as it was intended.

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