Paediatrician urges proactive strategy to tackle childhood obesity

Consultant Paediatrician and Paediatric Endocrinologist, Dr Leslie Gabay, is championing a proactive national response to combat childhood obesity.

He said that addressing this challenge early unlocks immense potential for children's physical health, classroom learning, social development, and lifelong well-being.

Addressing a recent JIS Think Tank, Dr Gabay, who is the former president of the Paediatric Association of Jamaica, noted that healthcare providers are seeing increasing numbers of adolescents with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes, conditions that were previously uncommon among children.

He said that the issue goes beyond physical appearance, having implications for a child’s cognitive, physical, medical and educational development.

He noted that having a healthy body allows children and young people to maximise their potential and enjoy successful lives without the medical complications associated with obesity.

Having excess weight can affect the spine and joints, while many children experience sleep-related problems, including snoring.

“Snoring, apart from being a nuisance to the household, is a health risk because when you snore, you put extra strain on your heart, your cardiovascular system,” he explained.

According to Dr Gabay, poor sleep can also affect children’s ability to learn and concentrate in school.

He noted that rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is important for rejuvenation and for consolidating information learned during the day.

“These children are going to have challenges within the classroom. They're not going to sleep well, so they're going to end up at school feeling fatigued, not being able to concentrate, and this leads to learning challenges that you're going to see in the children,” he said.

The paediatric endocrinologist said children affected by obesity may also be less likely to participate in sporting activities, which can further contribute to weight-related challenges.

He pointed to other social difficulties, including teasing, bullying and challenges with relationships.

Dr Gabay argued that the medical consequences can be significant, including metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, fatty liver disease, hypertension and, among girls, irregular menstrual periods that can eventually contribute to infertility.

“We're looking at a metabolic mess,” he said, describing the combination of high blood sugar, high blood pressure and increased levels of fat and cholesterol that can occur.

Dr Gabay warned that these conditions can contribute to the earlier onset of diseases associated with diabetes and hypertension, including kidney failure, heart disease and nerve disease.

Against this background, Dr Gabay said addressing childhood obesity is important for individual health, and also for Jamaica’s social and economic development.

“We're really looking at the challenge of obesity, not really from how we look but how does this impact on the individual in their social well-being, in their health well-being, and in how they interact with their community?” he highlighted.

The consultant paediatrician pointed to evidence indicating that obesity can also have socioeconomic consequences, including differences in employment and earnings, as well as increased healthcare expenditure.

Dr Gabay is, therefore, encouraging a comprehensive approach involving families, schools, healthcare providers and policymakers.

He said that all children should participate in physical activity at school, not just those who are members of sports teams.

“We want everybody to be participant in an activity,” he stressed, noting the importance of policies implemented by the Ministries of Health and Wellness and Education.

He also highlighted the importance of parental education and healthy practices from early childhood.

Dr Gabay said parents and grandparents play an important role in shaping children’s food choices, particularly in a society where traditional attitudes can sometimes encourage adults to give children whatever foods they request.

“How many parents are educated to pick the right foods for their growing child that allows them to maximise their growth potential and to maximise their brain growth potential as well?” he questioned.

The paediatric consultant underscored the importance of breastfeeding and appropriate transition from milk feeds to solid foods, noting that healthy eating practices should begin early in life.

Dr Gabay also raised concern about children’s exposure to sugar, explaining that sugar can stimulate pleasure and reward pathways in the brain, which can encourage repeated consumption.

Bearing all of these factors in mind, he said addressing obesity requires attention to both food intake and physical activity.

“When we don't burn, we store it as fat and then we start to have challenges from the fat that we store,” he explained.

‘WEIGHT A BIT: TURNING THE TIDE ON CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN JAMAICA’

Findings from the 2026 Global School-based Student Health Survey show that 31.7 per cent of students aged 13 to 17 years were classified as overweight and 15.3 per cent as obese.

The Paediatric Association of Jamaica and the Heart Foundation of Jamaica are leading the ‘Weight A Bit: Turning the Tide on Childhood Obesity in Jamaica’ initiative, which is scheduled to be officially launched on September 30. The initiative seeks a broad-based, multisectoral response to childhood overweight and obesity.

Dr Gabay said the focus must, ultimately, remain on ensuring that Jamaica’s children are healthy and able to participate fully in education and society.

“We really do want to address this not from a cosmetic perspective but from a perspective that we are looking that our children need to be healthy,” he said.

“They need to be best educated as they can be. They need to be individuals who contribute to society. They need to be individuals who can express themselves and achieve their potential to the maximum,” he said.

Dr Gabay said Jamaica must, therefore, confront childhood obesity as a significant health issue and ensure that children are supported from the earliest stages of life.

“We need Jamaica to face obesity… from a health perspective, to ensure that we are having children who are healthy and able to participate and benefit from all our educational supporting systems that are available to them,” he added.

- JIS

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