‘Portion Matters’ says MOHW on Healthy Dieting Practices

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is urging Belizeans to take control of their health as the country grapples with rising obesity rates. This week’s World Obesity Day spotlighted just how serious the issue has become and why healthier habits matter now more than ever. But a well‑intended ministry flyer, meant to promote affordable, healthy meals, quickly stirred debate online, with some Belizeans questioning whether the suggested dishes were truly nutritious or realistic for daily life. Tonight, the ministry is setting the record straight. Its Technical Advisor for Nutrition says the conversation shouldn’t just be about what’s on the plate, but how much of it. Portion size, she explains, plays a key role in building healthier, more sustainable eating habits.

 

Robyn Daly, Technical Advisor for Nutrition, Ministry of Health and Wellness

“The ministry and myself as well is very pleased that we’re having this conversation. The feedback from the postings that you guys did has had a lot of reviews, feedback, comments, and we love it. We love that people are thinking about obesity, they’re talking about, or basically they’re talking about the foods that were posted on the flyer, but just to give an official response. The foods were just foods. When we talk about obesity, we also need to look at portion. So I am in the process of also preparing other flyers. The conversation will not end here. We will continue talking about nutrition. I think it’s a very good time for us to have this conversation. The public is hyped, the comments are very funny very admirable, very interesting. I’ve seen a lot of comments as well about other health professionals. So we welcome this discussion. We want to have this discussion, and we want people to become more health conscious. So we are very excited that people are commenting on the foods and they’re giving their own personal opinions. And that’s fine, but I want to mention that the foods did not talk about portions. They were just pictures of foods that we have locally available here. We have a lot of local foods that are healthy. I wanna make that point clear. It’s not only those ten foods that I posted, there are many foods that are affordable ’cause we didn’t post fruits. Fruits are very healthy. Fruits are of course, affordable gear and in abundance. So we do have many more affordable foods and it gives me the idea to do some more flyers. So we should have more of these foods being posted on flyers and more nutrition related information for the public so we could continue this conversation ’cause it’s wonderful and I welcome more feedback. I welcome more comments and we want to be in touch with the media more on this topic.”

 

And as the ministry keeps the conversation going, officials say they’re using the public’s feedback to push even more nutrition guidance and get Belizeans thinking about healthier choices every day.

 

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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