The TMRU was established in 1958 and predates CAIHR by over 40 years. It was the first Medical Research Council (UK) research unit to be set up in an overseas university.
See THE HOUSE THAT JOHN BUILT for the history of TMRU and CAIHR as well as the artefacts housed at TMRU.
The Tropical Metabolism Research Unit has an enviable track record in infant nutrition research and care. The empty ward for malnourished children at the TMRU location on the compound of the University Hospital, speaks volumes to the Unit’s success in leading the research and clinical trials that helped to eradicate child malnutrition in Jamaica.
With a focus now on embarking on new research frontiers in a 'life course approach' to nutrition research, the TMRU will continue to be a source of quality research to inform high-level policymaking and healthcare interventions by regional governments.
Jamaica, like many other islands in the Caribbean, rank among the highest consumers of sweetened beverages (SSB) globally. These unhealthy diet practices are main contributors to high rates of obesity in diet-related non-communicable diseases among adults and teenagers. Public health education and healthy food policies, such as front-of-package warning labels and school nutrition policies are strongly warranted.
Unabated anthropogenic climate change driven by the emission of greenhouse gases has been described as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Understanding how the built and social environment impact on physical activity and eating practices are important goals.
TMRU will also continue to train some of the Caribbean’s finest researchers at the undergraduate, postgraduate and post-doctoral levels, as it pursues its goals to improve the nutritional wellbeing of the peoples of the Caribbean and beyond.
Preventing obesity and non-communicable disease risk through the implementation of healthy food policies is a growing priority in many countries. School-based nutrition programs and food labelling systems, such as front-of-package labels, are considered important obesity prevention strategies with wide-ranging coverage. Caribbean children are becoming more overweight or obese as a result of unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles. Known dietary risk factors include excess intake of sugary drinks and fast foods, with inadequate amounts of fruits and vegetables. These comprehensive healthy food policies are integral for safeguarding food environments, including promoting healthy options and regulating the exposure to unhealthy food.
The primary goal of the programme is monitoring food exposures in the school and retail food environments and determining impacts on health that are crucial to the development and policy implementation process in the Caribbean.
The first JAMBAR Kids Study was conducted in Jamaican and Barbadian schools in 2018 and 2019. This study explored the food and physical environments within primary and secondary schools in both countries. The impact of school food environments on the nutritional status of Jamaican primary school children was also assessed.
Generally, the objectives included assessing
Follow-up studies are being conducted to help monitor changes in the school environment.
The project, led by Dr Suzanne Soares-Wynter, Clinical Nutritionist, provides the following:
Broad findings of the studies include:
These data contribute to the development of comprehensive school nutrition policies and initiatives in Jamaica andBarbados.
In 2019, the Government of Jamaica through its Ministries of Health and Wellness, and Education, Youth and Information introduced Interim Beverage Guidelines. These provide a stepwise approach to reducing sugar content of beverages being sold or provided in schools. In Jamaica, a school nutrition policy is now in parliament as a green paper and available for public consultation and feedback. More recently, the Barbados government approved a National School Nutrition Policy for implementation in the 2022-2023 school year.
National School Nutrition Policy, May 10, 2022 – Green Paper
For access to a compilation of childhood obesity prevention activities across the Caribbean region, visit the Healthy Caribbean Coalition’s Childhood Obesity Prevention portal HERE.
Unabated climate change, driven by the anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases, has been described as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Even though small island developing states, like those in the Caribbean, contribute less than 1% of greenhouse gas emissions, they are the most vulnerable to climate change. The Lancet Countdown, through an international, multi-disciplinary collaboration, comprising of over 140 experts from more than 35 academic and UN institutions, has been tracking the progress of health and climate change since the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Recognizing the vulnerability of small island developing states to climate change, this project established a Lancet Countdown Regional Centre for Small Island Developing States in 2022 to track progress on health and climate change by bringing together institutions from the Caribbean, SIDS in the Pacific region, and those within the region spanning the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the South China Sea (AIS).
This centre aims to address some of the identified priority areas of health and climate change in SIDS and build a network of regional expertise. This expertise feeds into the global work of the Lancet Countdown and ensures that its work is effectively communicated to national, regional, and international policymakers.
Lancet Countdown SIDS Regional Centre site: https://lancetcountdown.org/sids/
Office of the Vice Chancellor
The University of the West Indies
Regional Headquarters
Kingston 7, Jamaica, W.I.
Tel: (876) 927-1660-9 Exts. 2336/2339
Fax: (876)927-0253
Email: vcoffice@uwimona.edu.jm
Copyright © 2018,The University of the West Indies
