The Health and Wellness Ministries of Andrews Memorial Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, in partnership with the renowned Uchee Pines Lifestyle Institute of Alabama in the United States (US), is set to host a special symposium aimed at teaching life-saving lifestyle changes to reverse non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Yesterday’s launch at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston saw medical, government and opposition representatives providing data-driven presentations on the state of the nation’s health, with a prognosis that is good for neither the young, ageing or disabled.
Dr Derria Cornwall, consultant radiologist and director of Health Ministries at Andrews Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church, l, said the symposium’s focus will teach individuals effective and inexpensive ways to reverse lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease; manage stress and improve sleep.
“The institute (Uchee Pines Lifestyle Institute) will be working with local medical doctors, lifestyle practitioners and counsellors to deliver a series of lectures and workshops and also to do personal medical consultations,” she told the launch.
Several medical personnel from the institute will be resource persons for the symposium which will be held February 26 to March 1 at Andrews Memorial, which is located on Hope Road in St Andrew
Among those addressing yesterday’s launch was Dr Simone Spence, who is the acting chief medical officer while Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie is on leave. She told the meeting that Jamaica is facing an NCD crisis – a staggering reality that requires urgent action from all stakeholders – and that the statistics were not good for either Jamaica or the rest of the globe.
“Jamaica is no exception to this, as, according to our Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey, one in three persons are hypertensive or have high blood pressure, but also another one in three are pre-hypertensive. And more startlingly is what Dr (Leslie) Meade would have shared, the fact that 40 per cent of these persons are unaware that they have this condition. One in eight have diabetes and more than 50 per cent of them don’t know that they have diabetes. One in two persons approximately are either overweight or obese, which we all know is a major risk factor for NCDs,” she said.
Added to that, the vast majority of Jamaicans consume less than the required daily intake of fruits and vegetables, and more than 30 per cent live a sedentary lifestyle, which is also a contributing factor to the high burden of disease.According to her, Jamaica is among the top 10 countries in the Americas for diabetes and cancer complications and deaths.
Diabetes is listed as the number-one killer in that regard. For men, the leading cause of death is stroke, while cancer remains among the leading causes of death, accounting for almost 24 per cent of NCD-related fatalities in 2020, breast and prostate cancers being the leading causes.
Continuing, she said: “And there has been a significant increase from 2006 to 2021 in what we call the age-standardised mortality rates for diabetes, hypertensive disease, ischemic heart disease, and breastcancer, not because our population is aging, but really arising in the conditions regardless of the age structure of our population. And of concern also is that our people are dying younger, and getting these NCDs in the prime oftheir lives.”
ECONOMIC IMPACT A CONCERNING FACTOR
The economic impact is also equally concerning and she lauded Andrews Memorial for having both a timely and essential symposium. Meade, president of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ), said more younger persons were dying from NCDs.
“NCDs also account for almost 80 per cent of deaths in Jamaica. So when you see a death certificate, it’s more than likely saying diabetes, hypertension, cancer. And so this is why this initiative is very important … . So, while genetics play a part, our population is also ageing and as we age we will develop non-communicable diseases. The research is clear that lifestyle choices are the main causes and risk factors such as our poor diet, physical inactivity, and other harmful habits which begin early in life and influenced by social, environmental and commercial factors,” he told the launch.
At the same time, Dr Alfred Dawes, opposition spokesman on health, a bariatric surgeon, said a mindset change is required, without which individuals will constantly be in a cycle of weight gain, losing and reg aining weight, with blood pressure and diabetes going out of control. According to him, there was a lack of acceptance for chronic diseases, which transcends educational status.
Persons have watched and wished breast lumps away, while cancer grew after which many often abdicate responsibility to the government. Charging that there is a shortage of healthy meals, he said “we must do better as a country”.
Citing the preponderance of menus with hidden high trans-fat levels, he said persons are often duped into believing they are eating healthy. While he congratulated the MAJ for its advocacy, he said more was needed to make Jamaica healthy again.
“We need to pass the laws that govern the trans fats, the availability of information at restaurants, where you don’t goto a restaurant that is a food chain, and you order a salad that has 1,000 calories thinking that you’re eating healthy. The caloric values must be itemised on restaurant menus … ,” Dawes said.
He wants more screening done, and asked the audience to hold him accountable for making changes aimed at healthy lifestyles for Jamaica.
Professor Floyd Morris, one of 18 experts on the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, told those in attendance for the launch that disability respects no one, as a person can go from able to disabled within a day.
Morris said disability is now a rights-based issue, and healthcare is a fundamental right to persons with disabilities under various UN charters. He said the healthcare system must become more accessible to persons with disabilities, especially being able to communicate with the hearing impaired.
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