Marlene: Nobody cooks anymore

McDonald, who is also Port-of-Spain South MP, made the observation that many people appear to prefer to purchase cooked food rather than cook meals for themselves. She said in her constituency, if she did not reach a particular eating establishment at a particular time, all the food was done. Noting it has been said that “a healthy child is a healthy adult,” Mc- Donald asked what was being done to curb obesity in children. She also said when people fail to address obesity in their younger years, it can lead to expensive and painful medical procedures later to deal with obesity.

Health Ministry Permanent Secretary Richard Madray and the Ministry’s director (health education) Yvonne Lewis indicated to JSC members that the ministry is in the process of rolling out a national programme on non-communicable diseases, which treats with issues such as obesity.

Lewis explained that one of the strategies will be examining the amount of sugar, salt and fat contained in the foods which are served to children. In making her earlier observations, McDonald spoke about a food outlet which serves chicken, fries and a soft drink for $20. “Is this healthy?” she asked.

Madray also spoke about plans by the ministry to have a national public health laboratory operational within the next eight months. He made this comment after McDonald stressed the need to ensure that all drugs imported into the country are properly tested. She observed that this is done in other jurisdictions such as the United States and the United Kingdom.