A bag of cheese sticks or a bag of carrot sticks? Two frosted cupcakes or an apple? A bottle of soft drink or a bottle of milk?

   There are a number of reasons why several salt or sugar-laden goodies are selected for a child's lunch bag as opposed to the obviously healthier options. Convenience, price and even the child's own personal preferences for "junk food" often dictate the choices made by parents when purchasing items for their growing children.

   "I give my daughter pocket money and she gets lunch at school so she makes her own decisions as to what she wants for her snacks. It's a lot easier than buying things for her to carry. When she was younger I used to buy things for her but she would either bring back what I sent her with or give it away and that just didn't make any sense to me," was the lament of Christine Brown-Johnson, a 34-year-old mother of two.

   Michelene John, 42, and a mother of three agreed with Brown-Johnson but added, "My sons get pocket money but I also used to buy plenty fruits and vegetables for them to eat at home. But, there's a parlour close to our house and they would just leave the fruits and vegetables to rotten and go and buy what they want to eat anyway. 

   Then fruits and things get real expensive and the little pack of corn curls and pack of biscuits were a cheaper option. I'm a single parent and I don't have a big salary so every dollar counts. Let them get what they want."

   These parents are not alone in their plight. However, leaving children to make decisions that may ultimately affect their overall health and development is not the wisest call, says nutritionist Cynthia Mohammed.

   "Parents need to teach their children the importance of a healthy diet and exercise if we, as a society, want to stop the epidemic of chronic lifestyle diseases. A diet high in 'junk food' could ultimately lead to a child becoming overweight or obese, which in turn increases the risk  of many diseases and health conditions including hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and respiratory problems and even certain cancers."

   "I think many parents are unaware of the fact that these diseases account for more than half the incidence of premature death in this country. 

   Additionally, it has been proven that children with unhealthy eating patterns grow into adults with unhealthy eating patterns and this in turn affects productivity in the workplace."

   Though Mohammed made a valid point about parents' roles in educating and monitoring their children's diets, one has to merely take a walk into a primary school canteen where one will surely find the majority of products offered for sale to students are high-calorie snacks and beverages like cheese curls, sweet biscuits, soft drinks and juices from concentrate as opposed to low-calorie, healthier options like unsalted peanuts, bananas, freshly popped popcorn and fresh fruit juices.

   Data from the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) suggests that fat and obese children account for as much as 15 per cent of their population group in several Caribbean countries. These rising obesity rates correspond to the increases in the consumption of fatty foods, salty snack, soft drinks and diets generally high in sugar and fat.

   The Caribbean Commission on Health and Development (CCHD) advocates the closer regulation of foods, especially the importation of foods with high fat content and it called for licensing laws so consumers would be aware of the contents of the foods they eat. 

   Additionally, recommendations were made for agricultural policies that ensure that food security is high on the agenda with possible incentives for local production of requirements for a healthy diet-fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

   The CCHD believes that schools should also play a part in educating children on nutrition and the need for the inclusion of physical education as a recognised and indeed important part of the curriculum.

   In the fight against non-communicable diseases, several positive proposals have been made thus far. The Manning administration seeks to further increase the taxes and duties on alcohol and tobacco as an option. 

   However if future generations are healthier that may result in a lower incidence of non-communicable diseases, which may in turn result in lower costs for health care in general.

   Perhaps then, the key to the health equation is not focusing on just cigarettes and alcohol. The main problem could be linked to what we eat.

   Apart from implementing licensing laws to make consumers more aware of what they are eating and launching aggressive campaigns to educate adults and children alike, more needs to be done to make healthy diet items available for both children and adults while making non-healthy diet items less readily available.

   The nutritional quality of fruit and vegetables is well-known. Since many consumers would argue with the statement that at present, fruits and vegetables are inexpensive, perhaps current educational efforts should highlight the nutrient content of these foods compared to cost.

   Perhaps foreign fast food agencies, snack companies, parlours and school canteens all need to be nudged a bit more to offer healthier options as opposed to the cheaper, more convenient but ultimately detrimental snack and food selections.

   Until that happens, the onus falls on the individual to make the right diet selections and, in the case of children, parents primarily must set a proper example by encouraging healthier choices. Learn that when it comes to children's snacks, don't ban them, plan them wisely.

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