Bermuda leads the way in healthy schools

By Caribbean Medical News Staff
Reports from the Healthy Caribbean Coalition say Bermuda schools are regional and global leaders in creating healthy nutritional environments for their students.
HCC says that Dr. Virloy Lewin, Health Promotion Coordinator and Mrs. Marie Beach Johnson, Healthy Schools Coordinator in the Bermuda Department of Health shared elements of the progressive Healthy Schools Nutrition Policy implemented in 1997. Some of the highlights of the Policy include: the ‘Vending Machine Policy’, which stipulates that school vending machines may only contain plain, unsweetened water and/or 100% juice (no sodas and snacks and to date 100% of Bermuda schools are compliant with this policy); Healthy Schools & Nutrition Services rating scale for compliance with the Healthy Schools Nutrition Policy; and the Policy stipulates the consumption of fruits and vegetables during the school day in school lunches brought from home.
Dr. Lewin provided this information when the HCC reached out to NCD Focal Points and CMOs regionally to request information for the international food database – NOURISHING policy framework to promote healthy diets & reduce obesity (documenting government policies and programmes around nutrition). Currently the Caribbean is absent from the global database which will be updated in February to reflect the work being done in Bermuda reports indicated.
Reports from HCC indicate that the organization is keen showcase Caribbean best practices. They continue to urge government representatives to share related information them at all times.
The HCC went on to laud the Bermuda Department of Health for this outstanding commitment to child and adolescent health amidst increasingly obesogenic environments while recommending that governments throughout the region to adopt similar policies which are urgently needed to combat the regional epidemic of childhood obesity.