The Obesity epidemic - we often hear about it in the states, but medical professionals says it's happening right here at home too!
The Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama - known as INPAC, says that in Belize, obesity, which is linked to non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, is becoming a very real danger to the population. In response, the Ministry of Health is trying to design an over-weight and obesity Operational plan.
Part of that plan is to get the media to watch the way it promotes or advertises unhealthy foods. 7News attended the discussion, and we found out how INCAP plans to intervene on the obesity disease:
Dr. Jorge Polanco
"Obesity is compared to something like tobacco that you smoke for 10 -15-20 years and you have direct effects such as cancer. You are obese for 10-15 years you will have similar direct effects such as cardio vascular diseases, cancer, kidney problems, hypertension, diabetes - its well know that obesity is a direct cause for diabetes."
Dr. Manuel Ramirez
"Our goal is to make awareness about the big issue that we have in this country and in all Central America region on this obesity is a disease, obesity is something that is happening not when you are old, but since you are a child. There are many children already with obesity and the numbers are growing. This is an issue that we need to take very seriously because obesity is related with many diseases including diabetes, cancer and heart attack, strokes etc. Children under 5 there are 7% of the population in Belize - that's like 3,000 children already with obesity and if we go to adults right now its 60% of men and 75% of women who are already overweight and obese. This is something that is one of the most prevalent risks factors for chronic diseases as diabetes, cancer and heart 
attacks. The problem is that there is lots of high caloric food that is very cheap that people who cannot select healthy food are eating because the only thing that they can buy, so then there is some policies that needs to be done. The healthy food needs to be cheaper and the bad food or junk food needs to be more expensive because if you don't do changes at that level then people will continue eating whatever they can have with the money that they have."
Dr. Jorge Polanco
"Our neighboring country Mexico last month manage to pass a federal law that the promotion through television, the advertisement of junk food, food that is ultra process and drinks that have a very high content of sugar is ban during the time when the children are at home and they were specifically referring to from Monday to Friday between 2:30 and 7:00 at night. During the weekends its ban from 7 in the morning to 7 at night - that's when the children are at home."
The medical professionals are recommending that overweight and obese persons should add exercise routines to their daily lives.
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