Tackling early childhood undernutrition and obesity in Jamaica, 1962-2018

Like many other parts of the Global South, the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region experiences the coexistence of undernutrition and overweight in early childhood. The WHO has defined childhood obesity as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. Overweight and obese children are likely to stay obese into adulthood and develop NCDs. And undernutrition in childhood is linked to various developmental deficiencies and increases the risk of developing NCDs. As such, undernutrition and obesity in early childhood has huge implications for LAC nation states, as it reduces their workforce, increases health care costs etc. LAC countries have increasingly started to address the nutritional status of children, especially since signing the Millenium Declaration. To date, little attention has been paid to the past nutritional status of children and policies adopted in the past by (inter)governmental agencies and (i)NGOs to improve child nutrition. This project aims to demonstrate the added value that a historically-grounded approach to child nutrition can offer. It will trace the nutritional status of Jamaican children from independence to the present and examine policies adopted to improve it, using a variety of sources ranging from medical journals, newspaper articles, and published reports to archival and library materials.