Regulating Foods and Sugary Drinks in Solomons

By Travis Ronnie 

Government regulation on imported foods and sugary drinks is a must for the health of Solomon Islanders according to local doctors and nutritionists.

While political instability has been a grave threat to the nation, NCDs and the lack of regulation around processed and sugary foods pose a serious risk to the future of the country.

Dr Waxson Rizwold believes that regulating such goods is matter of health, environmental, financial and social welfare for the nation.

Rizwold said, while government is investing on younger generation’s education, it must also seriously consider its wellbeing by limiting already flooded amount of imported goods and sugary drinks into the country.

A recent trip by Dr Rizwold to the western Solomon Islands to do a health check and awareness has given him a strong belief that government needs to regulate imported goods.

He said the major contributing factor to high NCD’s in Solomon Islands is the shift in the diet.

“Villagers who are rich in local food are now eating daily on imported foods, such as noodle, canned food and rice.”

“This shift of diet is an alarming trend and a major risk factors that increases the number of death rates and need for costly health services in Solomon Islands,” said Rizwold.

“The increase consumption of sugary drinks contributes to diabetes (NCD’s), which results in high rate of death incidents that occur mostly in Solomon’s and Pacific Islands.”

A regular soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoon of sugar and has about 140 calories, (Foundation, 2014), which is one of the main causes of diabetes that is rated as the most deadly killer today.

Rizwold said, the accessibility and availability on processed canned goods are sold in most canteens nearby, which makes villagers lazy to walk to their garden and plant local food.

“As a result villagers are depended, lazy, inactive in exercise and result in accumulating fats that develops into Diabetes melitus, Hypertension, Cardiac disease like heart attack and cancer,” he said.

For younger generations drinking sugary drinks, alcohol and smoking cigarettes are increasing, which children are exercising their rights, while disobeying parent’s authority.

Rizworld said, NCD’s are a lifestyle disease, which can be controlled if responsible authorities take action.

Seeing people crowded at the National Referral hospital in Honiara and clinics in the provinces, reflects the increase need for health services is very urgent.

However, there are limited facilities and medical specialists to meet the growing number of patients that are admitted to hospital.

Medical Doctor, Pedical Togamae said that spending money on medical facilities, such as scanning machines, are good, but preventing it is much better than diagnosing people who already have the NCD’s.

Togamae said it is very important for Solomon Islands, to have a complete healthy lifestyle to enhance successful future for the wellbeing of the communities.

Dr Togamae believed that government initiatives should include:

• Such as encouraging a 30 minutes’ walk after working hours
• Provide a walking track and facilities for exercise.
• Limit imported goods
• Ban canned food is not nutritious
• Ban some of the imported sugary drinks and beer, which are highly concentrated in calories and sugar.”
• Ban imported tobacco.

Nutritionist Dr Jillian Wate expressed that government is very weak in imposing existing regulations on imported goods and sugary drinks.

Wate said, some of the canned food sold in shops have Chinese labels which makes it difficult for consumers. This reflects consumer and price controlling authorities are struggling with their existing responsibilities.

Wate expressed that due to the serious impacts on the society, imports on processed foods and sugary drinks should be regulated.

“It is evident that people in the societies are controlled by these processed food and drinks, which will become a risk in their wellbeing.”

She said, government must implement policies on immediately, while there’s opportunity to make this region a better place to live.

“Unless, government make decision societies will have a healthy and prosperous future.”