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Globally, chronic non-communicable diseases are among the major causes of morbidity and mortality. Ministries of Health and Education have placed non-communicable diseases high on the agenda for action. One may ask, however, are they doing all...

Mental well-being enables people to manage their thoughts, emotions and behaviours and thereby achieve their full potential and cope effectively with normal life stressors.  However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that one in four...

Would seven (7) years of additional life be valuable to you? If your current lifestyle would cause you to die at age 60 years, would you prefer living instead to age 67 years? Or if you are on target to live to age 70 years, would you prefer to...

Do you have a canteen that serves eggs for breakfast to your staff?  Are a lot of eggs consumed in your home?  Across our Caribbean countries, eating eggs for breakfast has been a pervasive tradition.  However, in recent times, there has been...

We should always encourage our colleagues and employees to do regular checks for some of the risk factors for good health, including blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol measurements.  This triad of testing will help determine if you or...

In 2015, I was diagnosed with heart failure at the age of 41. At the time, I held a very senior and very stressful position in the Government of Jamaica. The heart failure came at the end of a series of health issues, including hypertension and...

As a leader in society, you probably never gave thought to the nexus between productivity, health, and research ethics committees.  Well, you are now being called upon to spread the word!  We all should know what is crucial to research in...

As leaders in society, we ought to pass on valuable health information to our staff, family members, and to as many persons as possible within our sphere of influence. We know that eating right and exercising for 30 minutes each day consistently...

If you were told that exercise will cut your risk for 13 cancers, would it encourage you to begin regular exercising?   If you were told that the intensity and length of exercise needed to prevent cancer would vary with the type of cancer, would...

Look around you at work or in your community – are you concerned about the high levels of obesity that you see?    What are the likely consequences on these persons’ health, if not in the short term, certainly in the long term?   Obesity, a...

As a leader in your business or organization, you should be cognizant of the importance of a proper diet for your employees and yourself.  Hence, you should be aware that there is currently a ‘buzz’ surrounding gluten and gluten-free diets, and...

As a leader, how can you influence the culture of your organization to be more supportive of work-life balance and a healthy lifestyle?

A director in the Barbados public service brings fruit - instead of sweets - to the workplace for a staff...

As leaders in businesses, institutions, and organizations across the Caribbean, we know that our employees sometimes may be impaired by what they imbibe or smoke.  However, where any inhibitory or harmful effects linger beyond short-term, then...

As you work within your office, business, or institution, has the thought ever occurred to you that some of the psychiatric disorders you see in your employees or other adults might be due to the effects of bullying such persons received during...

The Zika virus has been in the news a lot lately, and with good reason.  While the large majority (75 – 80%) of Zika infections are so mild that persons do not realize they are infected, recent discoveries suggest that a small minority of cases...

Most people’s lives are driven by their feelings. You feel hungry… you eat. You feel that you want a little more… you eat a little more. You feel that some ice cream or cookies (especially the chocolate ones) would be the best dessert… so you...

Globally, mental disorders are a huge problem which burdens countries, communities and families. Whether we are talking about drug and alcohol abuse, schizophrenia, anxiety or depression, the toll is massive: productive years lost, inadequate or...

With the massive loss of man-hours from work and the chronic joint pains caused by infection with the chikungunya virus 2 years ago, as a leader in your organization, you should be reflecting on any possible adverse effects to your health and...

As we approach the Christmas season, we should balance the joys and indulgences that the season traditionally brings, with the care needed to prevent excesses and life-threatening choices. Overeating and over-imbibing are hallmarks of the season,...

As leaders and role models for our institutions and employees, we should promote the value of exercise and losing weight where necessary to achieve our ideal body weight for height (Body Mass Index or BMI). This is vital if we are to maintain...