Barbados is facing a growing public health emergency fueled by rampant overconsumption of sugar and processed fats, and a veteran agricultural specialist is pushing for urgent government intervention to reverse the dangerous trend. Keely Holder, a former chief agricultural officer, experienced farmer and leading agri-systems expert, laid out a comprehensive policy proposal during a Thursday press conference hosted by the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition (BCOPC) at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, calling for targeted subsidies and tax breaks for at least 30 to 40 nutrient-dense whole food items.
Holder, who serves as a BCOPC member, presented startling new consumption data that puts Barbados’ dietary habits far outside World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Per WHO guidelines, the average daily caloric intake for the island’s population should sit at roughly 2,250 calories. But current data shows Barbadians are exceeding that target by a staggering 70 percent on average, she confirmed.
The overconsumption crisis is even more pronounced when broken down by food group. Holder explained that the average Barbadian consumes around 583 calories per day from sweets and added sugars — nearly three times the 180 daily calorie limit recommended by the WHO. For oils and fats, the gap is equally dramatic: daily consumption hits 389 calories, more than double the WHO’s 160 calorie guideline. These high-calorie, low-nutrient food groups now make up a disproportionate share of the average Barbadian diet, directly driving rising national rates of obesity and diet-related chronic disease.
Against this backdrop, Holder argues that making nutrient-dense healthy foods more affordable for all households is the most effective first step to curbing overconsumption of harmful products and addressing Barbados’ worsening obesity crisis. She outlined that the first phase of the coalition’s proposed plan would involve identifying 30 to 40 priority whole, nutritious foods aligned with public health needs, with the goal of helping consumers shift their palates and long-term dietary habits toward options that meet their nutritional requirements. These priority items would primarily be low-carbohydrate options to offset excess sugar intake, and foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids to counterbalance the high levels of inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids in the current average diet.
To incentivize this shift, Holder is calling for these priority healthy items to be added to the country’s existing zero-rated goods basket — a list of products exempt from consumption taxes — with additional direct subsidies to bring down retail prices. She also emphasized the need for coordinated, integrated policy across government portfolios, specifically calling for aligned trade and tariff reform. Under that proposal, healthier foods would face lower or zero tariffs to boost accessibility, while higher tariffs would be placed on unhealthy processed products to raise their price and reduce consumer demand.
Beyond fiscal and trade policy, Holder highlighted public health education as a core pillar of any effective intervention. Many consumers, she noted, lack critical awareness of misleading industry practices in imported food products, which make up a large share of Barbados’ food supply. A common example is misleading serving size labeling: food manufacturers often list serving sizes based on current average consumption patterns rather than evidence-based healthy portions, leading consumers to unknowingly eat far more calories than they intend. Public education campaigns are needed to help consumers spot these misleading practices and make informed choices about their diets, she argued.
Holder closed by calling for closer collaboration between government agencies and civil society organizations to tackle the unhealthy overconsumption crisis, noting that coordinated multi-sector action is required to create sustainable, long-term change for public health in Barbados.