The Lahey Hospital and Medical Centre is to sponsor the creation of 280 healthy meals for students at Dellwood Middle School in a bid to combat childhood obesity.

As part of National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, the lunches will be made by Mary Smith, owner of EatSmart Bermuda — a catering company carrying a variety of health conscious meals and snacks, including low-glycemic choices. The menu will include egg salad and grilled chicken tender sandwiches, fruit salad and vegetable sticks and will be available to students on Tuesday, September 13 from noon until 2pm.

In July 2015, health minister Jeanne Atherden told the House of Assembly that nearly 75 per cent of Bermuda’s population is either overweight or clinically obese and there are about 10,000 children in Bermuda.

Obese children have a greater risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, insulin resistance, type-2 diabetes, breathing problems, joint problems, liver disease, and some cancers. These issues can lead to lifelong physical and behavioural health issues, along with an increased risk of being bullied.

Dinamarie Garcia-Banigan, Lahey Hospital and Medical Centre endocrinologist, said: “These healthy meals will go a long way towards educating Bermudian children and families on ways to eat healthy and avoid the long-term consequences of obesity.”

Dr Garcia-Banigan and Ocean Rock Wellness Centre’s medical director Ayesha Peets Talbot, a certified obesity physician, will address the students about the dangers of childhood obesity on September 13, 2016 at 10am. Following the lunch event, Dr Garcia-Banigan and Dr Peets Talbot will join Bermuda Hospitals Board Medical Education Department to discuss the trends, causes, and treatment of childhood obesity with the nursing staff at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital at 1pm.

Finally, on Wednesday, September 14 and Thursday, September 15, LHMC’s director of medical and surgical weight loss programme Amanda Powell and surgeon Dmitry Nepomnayshy will join the Bermuda Hospitals Board Medical Education Department for a “Lunch and Learn” medical education lecture for physicians on the latest techniques and breakthroughs in both the surgical and medical treatment of obesity.

To learn more about Ocean Rock Wellness’s “Fit Families” medical weight loss programme geared to children and adults, visit www.oceanrockwellness.com. To learn about Lahey Hospital and Medical Centre’s International and Executive Health programmes visit www.Lahey.org/ExecutiveHealth