Childhood obesity rate in Barbados rises to 42%, education minister warns
Key Points(5)
- BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Childhood obesity in Barbados has reached “scary and staggering” levels, with 42 per cent of the country’s children now overweight or obese, up from 31 per cent in 2017, Education Transformation Minister Chad Blackman has warned.
- Speaking at Wednesday’s media launch of the Barbados School Nutrition Policy Recognition Awards at the Ministry of Education’s conference room, Blackman said the figures underscored the need to make children’s health and wellness a priority alongside improvements to the country’s education system.
- He cautioned that academic progress and infrastructure development alone would not be enough to sustain national development if underlying health challenges were left unaddressed.
- “It's about saying to a nation, if we want to continue to develop for our people and to give Barbados the best chance of being competitive and to be a world leader in so many, many areas, we have to ensure that our young people, our children have the right framework,” Blackman said.
- The minister also acknowledged his own experience with obesity, saying it had helped shape his perspective on the issue.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Childhood obesity in Barbados has reached “scary and staggering” levels, with 42 per cent of the country’s children now overweight or obese, up from 31 per cent in 2017, Education Transformation Minister Chad Blackman has warned.
Speaking at Wednesday’s media launch of the Barbados School Nutrition Policy Recognition Awards at the Ministry of Education’s conference room, Blackman said the figures underscored the need to make children’s health and wellness a priority alongside improvements to the country’s education system.
He cautioned that academic progress and infrastructure development alone would not be enough to sustain national development if underlying health challenges were left unaddressed.
“It's about saying to a nation, if we want to continue to develop for our people and to give Barbados the best chance of being competitive and to be a world leader in so many, many areas, we have to ensure that our young people, our children have the right framework,” Blackman said.
The minister also acknowledged his own experience with obesity, saying it had helped shape his perspective on the issue.
“I can’t be saying to the nation in one direction that we have an obesity issue. I was obese. That’s a fact,” he said.
Blackman’s remarks highlighted the need to address cultural attitudes toward food and dietary habits as part of a broader effort to improve the health of Barbadian children.
While welcoming support from the private sector, he warned businesses against using schools to promote ultra-processed foods, saying corporate branding could undermine the goals of the school nutrition policy even when the products themselves were not consumed on school premises.
“You really ought not to be courting or trying to have activities that go against the policy,” he said.
Blackman noted that promotional items bearing food brands, including pencil cases and sharpeners, could influence children through visual messaging and psychological associations.
“Your branding, whether it’s a pencil case or a sharpener or whatever, sends a message through psychological means and visuals that is completely opposite to what we want,” he said.
The minister called for a coordinated national response to childhood obesity, urging individuals, families and communities to embrace changes in attitudes and culture to protect the health of future generations.
The increase in the proportion of children who are overweight or obese, from 31 per cent in 2017 to 42 per cent in 2026, represents an 11-percentage-point rise in less than a decade.
Blackman said addressing the challenge was essential to ensuring that Barbados’ young people have the foundation needed to thrive and contribute to the country’s long-term development.
