Too many overweight children in primary schools

THERE is a high percentage of overweight children in primary schools.

Charmaine Spring, registered nurse and co-ordinator of the School Health Unit at the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA), said this was discovered as the RHA continues with the TT Moves initiative.

"We are in collaboration with the Health Ministry and Education Ministry as it relates to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and childhood obesity in primary and secondary schools.

"We started an initiative where we go to the schools and do assessment education screening – blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, height, weight. We do the educational aspect as it relates to healthy eating and healthy lifestyle choices.

"In the primary schools we have discovered a high percentage of overweight children, and we look at this in a serious way."