Experts express concerns over obesity’s increase, offer solutions
Medical health and nutrition experts on Thursday expressed concern over the growing rate of obesity and over-weight among Nigerians, calling on stakeholders and government to tackle the risk.
The experts, who spoke at the online conference to mark the 2021 World Obesity Day, organised by the Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF), in Lagos, emphasised the need for healthy eating habits and exercises to prevent and control obesity.
Newsheraldng reports that the theme of the 2021 Commemoration is “Everybody Needs Everybody”.
According to the experts, there is the need to implement policies and programmes on physical exercises and healthy diet to combat the risk obesity and over-weight posed to Nigerian population.
Speaking, Prof. Fatai Adeniyi, the Director, Exercise Is Medicine (EIM), Nigeria, an NGO, said that obesity remained a very serious problem that required serious approach to tackle such as awareness and advocacies on physical exercises.
Adeniyi said: “Obesity is a problem and one of the ways in combating it is physical activities. Weight-loss programmes are necessary. There is the need for physical exercises for children and youths”.
The media practitioner, who decried the growing trend of locating schools at places that did not encourage physical activities for school children, urged all stakeholders and government to encourage physical exercises.
“The EIM, Nigeria reaffirms that physical activities and exercise play key roles in the prevention and control of overweight and obesity.
“We call for strict implementation of existing policies and enactment of several others that are related to the prevention and control of over-weight and obesity, ” he said.
In his comment, Prof. Adebayo Adeyemi, Director, Scientific Affairs, NHF added that schools should not be located where there are no facilities for physical exercises as part of the efforts to checkmate the growing trend of obesity.
Adeyemi, who emphasised the important of lifestyle, dietary and exercise in tackling the disease, called for a roadmap to checkmate obesity and over-weight across all ages and groups.
In his address, Prof. Tola Atinmo, Chairman, NHF Nutrition Committee, who said that obesity was one of the risk factor for Covid-19 fatalities, called for affordable healthy food, space for safe walking, cycling and recreation.
Atinmo said: “It is important for us to face the problem and make sure it is reduced to a very low level. Diet and exercise are important and critical. We should lower our sugar, carbohydrate and fat consumption.
“There is a lot we can do to make a difference and this includes: restricting the market to children of food and drinks high in fats, sugar and salt; taxing sugary drinks and providing better access to affordable, healthy food.”
Also speaking, Prof. Olugbenga Ogunmoyela, the Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Advocacy for Food Safety and Nutrition (CAFSANI) said that low consumption of fruits and vegetables had increase the risk of obesity.
Ogunmoyela, who decried increase in sugar consumption in the country, called for increase in awareness on healthy fruit and vegetable diets.
He said: “We should sensitise and educate people on food safety and healthy eating. We should protect consumers and increase nutrition education.”
According to Prof. Wasiu Afolabi, the President, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, adolescents and market women, who sit for long hours daily are at higher risk of obesity, and that the disease is more in rural areas than urban based on research.
Afolabi said: “Government should take the lead in enacting policy on healthy diet, safe and good quality food by controlling the nation’s porous borders from where unsafe food items gain entry into the country.”
Mrs Edirin Metseagharun, Chief Executive Officer, Project Healthy Kids, called on government to provide more facilities in schools for physical exercises while also encouraging children to be active and eat healthy.
Metseagharun said: “A major contributory factor is the reduction in the time allocated for physical exercises. Many schools now use recess time for studies.”
In his welcome address, Dr Kingsley Akinroye, the Executive Director, NHF, who urged Nigerians to avoid over-nutrition, under-nutrition, bad nutrition, said that advocacies on healthy lifestyle and regular exercise would help prevent obesity.
