Nearly 20 percent of Virgin Islands high school students are obese, according to a survey conducted here in 2009.
Dr. Betzabe Butron, of the Pan American Health Organisation, explained the survey’s findings to educators and health workers on Friday during a launch at the University of the West Indies Campus at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
The PAHO survey results have been available for some time, but the Friday event was the first time they were explained to a live audience here, according to Ivy George, coordinator of health promotion at the Ministry of Health and Social Development.
Besides the obesity statistic, Dr. Butron also said the survey suggested that nearly 40 percent of VI high schoolers are overweight — a predicament that affects more girls than boys.
See the Nov. 24, 2011 edition for full coverage.