Cuba Keeps Measles at Bay, but Not Obesity
Amid severe food insecurity, the number of Cubans with obesity reached 24%.
HAVANA TIMES – Doctor Francisco Duran, national director of Epidemiology, appears on the news every Wednesday to update the situation in Cuba. But this week he had no alarming information to comment on: oropouche virus fever is under control, although it is circulating through seven provinces, and the same is true for dengue fever, which has caused around 2,500 people to be admitted in three provinces, but with only one serious case, in Sancti Spíritus. The current concern is outside the border, with the serious outbreak of measles affecting the US.
Measles, one of the most contagious diseases in the world, is spreading across nine states and there are already more than 200 cases. Most of those affected were unvaccinated people. More concerning is that, following the death of an adult in New Mexico on Thursday, two deaths have now been reported.
In that state, ten people are infected, all under 17 years of age. Seven were not vaccinated; the rest probably weren’t either, but their history is not documented.
So far, cases of measles have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Texas. Last week produced Texas’s first fatal case in 30 years, and 10 others nationwide.
The New Mexico Department of Health issued a reminder that the only way to avoid measles is through vaccination, and urged residents to protect themselves and their families. An anti-vaccine movement has emerged in the US and is gaining momentum, with more than 20 bills currently under consideration to ease existing regulations.
The situation is such that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for his anti-vaccine stance, has urged the population to get the MMR vaccine, though he hasn’t stopped recommending some useless products, such as vitamin A, to prevent the disease, which has raised alarm among scientists.
In his news report, Francisco Duran recalled that measles has been eradicated in Cuba since 1993, seven years before the United States, and urged citizens not to let down their guard. “To prevent it, a vaccine is given at one year of age and at six years of age, which is a triple vaccine. It’s called the MMR vaccine because it includes mumps, measles and rubella, three diseases that have been eliminated in our country. I take this opportunity, as always, to urge mothers to be vigilant,” he emphasized.
But the program did not address another issue that has captured international attention this week, with the publication of the World Obesity Atlas 2025, which provides data for the island’s authorities to consider.
During a time of severe food insecurity, the number of Cubans with obesity has reached 24% and is expected to increase by 2030. Even worse is the percentage of the population that is overweight –more than half, some 5.53 million, according to the World Obesity Federation.
Cuba’s overweight population percentage is higher than the world average, though it is lower than the continent’s figures, which are alarming in both very rich countries, like the United States—one of the worst in the world—and in very poor ones, like Haiti. Nevertheless, the island’s numbers are disturbing.
Cubans have a 60% to 80% chance of being overweight throughout their adult lives, and looking ahead the picture is worse. By 2030, 2.95 million women and 2.58 million men in Cuba will be overweight or obese, compared to 2.39 million and 2.06 million in those categories in 2015.
But the chance of being obese in Cuba is lower: less than 10% for men and between 10% and 20% for women.
The atlas indicates that in 2021, 3,594 deaths related to overweight and obesity were recorded on the island, primarily due to cardiovascular disease and various types of cancer. In addition, 114,248 people suffered health problems related to a high body mass index (BMI), among which type 2 diabetes stands out, affecting almost half.
The study determined that consumption of sugary drinks is high on the island, between 1 and 2.5 liters per person per week. Furthermore, there is little physical activity. The organization warned the State about its neglect in this matter: in the last five years, the State has conducted no surveys on obesity and overweight, unhealthy diets, or physical activity. Nor has it taken measures to tax sugary drinks.
The Cuban diet is severely impacted by the scarcity of and rising prices for fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables, but also by poor nutritional education and a lack of measures to encourage the consumption of the healthiest foods possible. Instead, in an attempt to satisfy the population, the State has invested in or subsidized processed products containing sugars—or carbohydrates that release them—that worsen health.
“More people die every year from obesity than from traffic accidents,” said the president of the World Obesity Federation on Monday when presenting the report. An epidemic that receives less attention than it should.
Translated by Tomás A. for Translating Cuba.