Volunteering with Global Medical Brigades in Darien, Panama: Looking at the beverage consumption of the local citizens

Abstract

Global Medical Brigades is a primarily student-led organization which brings aid to various communities in Central America and Africa. My Global Brigade journey began in the fall of 2016, with my first trip being in the summer of 2017 to Honduras. I fell in love with the organization and the experience, and thus decided to go again to Panama the following summer. A big issue I noticed in Honduras was the prevalence of overweight people, as well as the rate of consumption of soft drinks; therefore, when I went to Panama on my second brigade, I wanted to conduct research to better understand the problems of overweight/obesity and soft drink consumption. After some research I found that urban peoples consume more high energy food and drinks than rural peoples due to having more money, but there is still cause for concern in the rural areas. My research is only a starting point in what will hopefully lead to actual dietary counseling and intervention to help the overweight and obesity issue that is present in that area.