(Jamaica Observer) – MORE than three in every 10 students captured in a recent survey by the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) were overweight while 15.3 per cent of them were obese.
The Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS), which was conducted between January and March this year, had 3,058 respondents from 32 schools, with 76 per cent participation among students and 100 per cent from schools.
It confirmed fears that there has been an increase in the number of Jamaican students getting obese and overweight, while underweight remains a concern.
According to the survey, obesity moved from six per cent in 2010 to 15.3 per cent in 2026, while the number of overweight students jumped from 21.7 per cent in 2010 to 31.7 per cent in 2026.
At the same time, there was an uptick in underweight students, from 2.1 per cent in 2010 to 3.4 per cent in 2026.
The survey also found a dip in physical activity from 23.2 per cent in 2017 to 19.6 per cent in 2026, while 70.2 per cent reported less than eight hours of sleep, which can be attributed to the long hours students spend on the Internet as sedentary behaviour — sitting down for more than three hours per day increased from 56.4 per cent in 2017 to 68 per cent in 2026.
“Students [who are] less active, more sedentary, and many not getting enough sleep means that there is an increased risk of obesity, chronic diseases, poor academic performance, and mental health problems,” said the NCDA.
