Saba Fit Activity Report 2015

Just Move!
Eat Right!Drink Water!
ABOUT SABA FIT
The Saba Fit campaign was officially launched on Saba in November 2013. The campaign is based on and
supported by the Dutch project JOGG (Jeugd op Gezond Gewicht/Youth on a Healthy Weight); an initiative
created to encourage young people to maintain a healthy weight by drinking water regularly throughout
the day, eating healthily and engaging in regular physical activity and exercise. Saba is now a registered JOGG
community along with Bonaire, St. Eustatius and many municipalities in The Netherlands. The campaign is
funded by the Island Government of Saba’s Public Health Department.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. In 2013 it was estimated that, globally, 42 million children under
the age of 5 were overweight. The high prevalence of overweight and obesity has serious health problems. Overweight and obese children are likely to stay obese into adulthood and more likely to develop
non-communicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age. These diseases not
only lead to premature death but also long-term morbidity. Additionally, overweight and obesity in children
are associated with significant reductions in quality of life and a greater chance of bullying and social isolation.
In May 2014, the Saba Fit team and students of the Saba University School of Medicine carried out BMI tests
on 128 Sacred Heart School students varying in age between 4 and 14. The results indicated that 66% of
students measured were classified as having a healthy weight, 18% were classified as overweight, 11% were
classified as obese and 5% were classified as underweight.
Since its launch in 2013, the activities of Saba Fit have focused on kicking off a massive social-marketing
campaign meant to increase awareness of the importance of living a healthy lifestyle among the community
of Saba in an effort to reduce and mitigate risks associated with childhood obesity. The campaign is specifically targeted toward school going youth between 0—19 years old and their parents.
1
5 JOGG PILLARS
The 5 PILLARS below are necessary for JOGG based campaigns to be successful within JOGG communities.
1
Political (Administrative support): healthy weight among the Saban population should be a
priority for and openly endorsed by the local government.
Since the launch of Saba Fit in November 2013, the campaign immediately achieved pillar 1 as it
was, and continues to be, endorsed and financially supported by the local government of Saba.
2
Public-private partnerships: public organizations and private companies should be co-drivers
of the campaign by contributing financially and through deeds in order to bring the message
to a wider audience.
The Saba Fit campaign has realized this pillar through several collaborative activies with public
organizations. In going forward, this pillar will be further realized through initiatives with the
private sector.
3
Social marketing: social marketing principles should be applied to bring the message across
to the community and foster increased awareness and participation among the target group.
For the past two years, the Saba Fit campaign has been primarily focussed on this pillar in order
to build more awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles and to augment acceptance
and a sense of ownership of the campaign among the target group and broader community.
4
Scientific guidance and evaluations: activities should be based upon proven effective principles
and evaluated regularly.
The Saba Fit team has participated in JOGG trainings and have applied corresponding JOGG
approaches to the different activities of the campaign. In May 2014, Saba Fit started to build its
scientific base by conducting BMI tests at the Sacred Heart School with the intention conduct
the tests again in May 2016 in order to determine to what extent the campaign initiatives have
made an impact.
5
Linking prevention and care: obesity risks should be detected early and structured care referrals should be organized fast.
Thus far, most Saba Fit activities have been prevention based in that they serve to encourage
the target group to adopt healthy behaviours so as to avoid the risks of childhood obesity. In
moving forward, Saba Fit will implement care measures through the Saba Fit—The Course
program and the school Public Health Nurse.
2
SABA FIT IN 2015
Collect-all-three Wristbands
Young people often dawn wristbands representing causes they believe
in and feel confident to stand up for. Throughout the 2014-2015 school
year, Saba Fit took advantage of this trend and distributed its themedbased wristbands at several school based events meant to remind the
youth to commit to remaining healthy throughout their daily lives.
Consistent with the colors and symbols of the Saba Fit logo, the lime
green EAT RIGHT themed wristbands were handed out to children in
the first quarter of the school year, the hot pink JUST MOVE themed
wristbands in the second quarter, and the light blue DRINK WATER
wristbands in the third quarter.
28 students of the Sacred Heart School and 2 students of Saba Comprehensive School who collected all three wristbands by the end of the
school year won prizes for their dedication to staying healthy.The prizes
were presented at the Center for Youth & Family’s 2nd annual Family
Fun & Resource Day and the first 2015-2016 school year assembly of
the Sacred Heart School.
House Color T-shirts
On Saba, a popular campaign strategy and easy way to get a message across to the community is through t-shirt branding.
At the Sacred Heart School and Saba Comprehensive Schools,
each student is assigned to one of four house groups represented
by individual colors. Most school activities center around house
competitions and school identity and team-building initiatives. The
Sacred Heart School house colors are red, green, yellow, and purple, and the Saba Comprehensive School house colors are red,
green, yellow, and blue.
In order to incorporate the Saba Fit message and themes into the
schools’ different house color activities, Saba Fit donated Saba Fit
house-color t-shirts sporting the campaign’s logo to all students
of both schools.
3
SABA FIT IN 2015
Saba Fit
also sponsored…
The Drink Water
Stand at the Sacred
Heart School’s
King’s Games.
Healthy snacks at the
Saba Comprehensive
School and Saba Triathlon Foundation’s
mini-triathlon and
kayak competitions.
Saba Day Healthy families Walk-a-thon
On Thursday, December 3rd, the evening before the 45th annual Saba Day celebrations, Saba Fit organized the second annual Healthy Families Walk-a-thon in collaboration with the Center for Youth & Family.
The event started at the Center for Youth & Family building in The Bottom with
face-painting after which children, parents and volunteers participated in the glowin-the dark walk to the Eugenius Johnson Center in Windwardside.
Upon arrival, participants were entertained with a dance performance by the Saba
Fit Just Move Dance Work-out group and a play by the Child Focus Theater Group.
Participants were also served healthy snacks by Chef Keith J. Murphy from the Saba
Ecolodge.
Just Move Dance Work-outs
Healthy Cooking
Workshops and
Healthy Afternoon
Snacks organized
by Child Focus.
The results of the BMI tests conducted at the Sacred Heart School in May 2014 indicated that the boys measured had a healthier weight than the girls. 71% of all the
boys had a healthy weight compared to 61% of all the girls. Of the boys, 23% were
overweight or obese. Of the girls, 36% were overweight or obese. Based on demand, Saba Fit organized Just Move Dance Work-outs which were more appealing
to girls. The classes were taught by La-Toya Charles from April—July and Nicole
Hassell from September to November.
Re-runs of the
Saba Fit theme
commercials on
the local television
channel.
4
Saba Fit in 2016
Important reasons for Saba to continue embracing the Saba Fit campaign and ideals include:
a healthy Saban society will be a vital and vibrant society;
an investment in the health of our young people is an investment in the bearers of our society’s
future;
a healthier population precludes the reduction of long-term health care costs for our society.
Since its launch in November 2013, all Saba Fit activities have been funded by the Island Government of
Saba and coordinated by free-lance coordinator La-Toya Charles. With the initiation of the Island Government’s Public Health Department in March 2015, the organization of Saba Fit gradually transitioned to this
department from May 2015. As of January 2016, Saba Fit falls completely under the Public Health Department and is coordinated by public health doctor Koen Hulshof and public health nurse Jetty Martens. The
central benefit of this transition is that the continuity and sustainability of the campaign is no longer dependent on an individual but will now become rooted within an organizational structure and team.
La-Toya Charles remains active with Saba Fit as a volunteer and steering committee member. Additional
steering committee members are Dr. Gina Boorsma of the Saba Health Care Foundation, Natascha Ulehaken who was involved in JOGG campaigns in The Netherlands, and Monique Wilson and Jacque Heemskerk
from the Center for Youth & Family.
2016 Activities
King’s Games Drink Water Stand
Saba Fit Just Move Dance Workouts
Healthy Snacks @ Saba Comprehensive School Mini-triathlon
Healthy Snacks @ Saba Comprehensive School Kayak Competition
Healthy Afternoon Snacks and cooking workshops @ Child Focus
Saba Fit Community Signs
Collect-all three Magnets campaign
Saba Day Healthy Families Walk-a-thon
Measurements of BMI
Fitness test grade 4-5-6
Like the Saba Fit facebook page for all updates on activities:
www.facebook.com/SabaFitProject
To volunteer/contribute contact:
koen.hulshof@sabagov.nl
jetty.martens@sabagov.nl