WHILE Guyana has adequate supply of healthy foods, local studies show that many citizens are not adhering to healthy lifestyle diets and those who are primarily affected by poor nutrition are pregnant women and their children.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, April 7, 2019, Nutritionist at Ministry of Public Health, Abigail Caleb, stated that Guyana, like other countries in the world, is affected by malnutrition.

However, unlike some parts of the world, she noted that Guyanese have the opportunity and ability to choose to live much healthier lives. Malnutrition, Caleb explained, results from a diet too little or too much of one or more nutrients which cause health problems such as obesity, overweight, underweight, stunting and more.

Examining the challenge locally, the nutritionist stated that some of these deficiencies are as a result of Guyana’s imitation of Western cultures with high reliance on fast food and restaurants and a lessening desire for traditional, home-prepared foods high in fiber; fruits and vegetables and grains. These, she said, are being exchanged for foods high in fat, sugar and salt.

“What we’re seeing in Guyana is a double burden of malnutrition where we have increasing levels of overweight and obesity — and from a younger age— backed together with micronutrient deficiencies like anemia, especially in pregnant women and young children. We’re also seeing levels of stunting in some children as well,” she said.

Regarding their prevalence in specific areas, the nutritionist said that overweight and obesity are common countrywide but somewhat more prevalent in urban areas. Stunting is more prevalent in hinterland regions while micronutrient deficiencies such as iron, vitamin A, and iodine are widespread but more prevalent in pregnant women.

Caleb told the newspaper that just under a quarter of children in Guyana are affected by stunting; over 40 per cent of the adult population is overweight; about 42 per cent of pregnant women are affected by micronutrient deficiencies and 51 per cent of these women are under the age of 20.

“So, we have a challenge with teenage pregnancy, as we know, and there is the further challenge of them not having sufficient iron in their bodies to make hemoglobin which leads to anemia,” she explained.

As a result, this increases the chance of maternal deaths while pregnant women, especially those with severe anemia, are at an increased risk of hemorrhaging during pregnancy.
Their infants, in turn, can be born with lower iron stores; less protection from diseases and infection; premature; underweight and other developmental issues.

“One challenge we have is that a lot of mothers don’t go to clinic early. Testing is done and treatment is given in the form of supplementation and dietary advice but if you don’t go early and you don’t receive those services and you turn up in your last trimester or when you’re about to give birth then 1) there’s little history on you [of your nutritional intake] and 2) there’s not much that can be done at that late stage,” Caleb cautioned.

She advised that a woman’s first or second missed [menstrual] period is an indication that she should pay a visit to the clinic.

Telling of one reason why this is important, she added: “There is folic acid which is a B vitamin that is necessary for the closure of the spinal cord of the infant within the first weeks of pregnancy. That’s one of the supplements that are given to pregnant woman.

So, if you go late and your diet is deficient of [lacking] this vitamin which you get from green vegetables, then that increases your child’s risk of getting spina bifida where he/she may have a bit of a protrusion in the back or may have anencephaly which is parts of the brain being missing.”

While some mothers often purchase prenatal vitamins and minerals, Caleb challenges mothers to visit the clinics nonetheless as these prenatal vitamins often fall short of the right supplemental iron and folic acid content.

Meanwhile, regarding Guyana’s overall state when it comes to nutrition, she stated that data from the last micronutrient survey conducted in 2013 shows that, while Guyanese may consume healthy foods, the manner in which they do so is ineffectual.

“We have a culture of having [for example] iron-rich foods together with foods that prevent our bodies from absorbing them. For instance, having a cup of tea — whether it’s milk tea, bush tea, black tea or cocoa — with a healthy plate of food prevents your body from absorbing that iron. With increasing consumption of caffeinated beverages and carbonated drinks such as Coca-Cola, there are substances in those that prevent your body from absorbing some nutrients,” she revealed.

However, the nutritionist said that Guyana is making progress towards changing the poor nutrition culture with the launch, last year, of the revised Food- Based Dietary Guidelines for Guyana.

It is aimed at developing a healthy population and came about through collaborative efforts involving the Ministry of Public Health, other government agencies and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). Caleb said that the information is currently being vigorously promoted in schools through school and adolescent health programmes and to the general public.

Meanwhile, a population study was conducted to identify challenges which lead to malnutrition, over-nutrition and under-nutrition and resulted in the development of guidelines specific to the Guyanese population and aiding the prevention of all forms of malnutrition.

Meanwhile, the Government continues to work closely with other local agencies as well as its international partners at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); FAO and elsewhere. Caleb stated that one of the local challenges that must also be addressed is the low number of senior technical persons within the nutrition arm of the Ministry of Public Health.

She advised: “There is a lot of support out there in terms of getting us the technical capacity but policies still have to be developed and then implemented and, with implementation, human resource is needed.”