HAVE you ever wondered why increasing number of Nigerians, even youths, are suffering from and dying of hypertension, diabetes, kidney diseases and cancers more than ever before? Medical scientists, including the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Akin Osibogun, have attributed the ugly scenario to wrong lifestyle among Nigerians.
Osibogun, a public health physician, told The Guardian exclusively that lifestyle could determine one’s quality of life, adding that a great number of Nigerians were battling with challenges that come with urbanisation.
“Partly because of challenges with urbanisation, people are sleeping less. Sleeping pattern is also a question of lifestyle. If one wakes up by 4am but sleeps at 12 midnight, one is not getting enough rest. It is likely to predispose one to disease like hypertension, and one’s immune level would also be affected because one is not getting enough rest.
“People do not eat fresh vegetables as result of urbanisation because fresh vegetables are available more in the rural areas. Therefore, they do not get some nutrients. Colon cancer is becoming a disease of concern for us in this environment because a lot of people are not taking in enough fruits and fresh vegetables to help the bowel move regularly so that there is no accumulation of carcinogenic chemicals in the gastrointestinal tract,” Osibogun said.
Former Senior Medical Consultant at the University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) and the Chief Medical Director, Oasis Children Hospital Port-Harcourt, Dr. Appolous Josiah, said Nigerians, aside patronising quack health officials, are in the habit of engaging in self-medication and seeking alternative medicine with attendant complications in form of kidney diseases.
Josiah lamented that some Nigerians work in hazardous environment without protective measures, a situation he said later backfires in form of severe non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
The medical expert added that some Nigerians are in the habit of keeping multiple sexual partners, which could predispose them to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including human immunodeficiency virus infection / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS).
“Multiple sexual partners, apart from exposing one to the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), will predispose one to cancers. Women who are in habit of keeping multiple sexual partners risk cancers of the cervix and vulvae, and men, in that order, risk cancer of the prostate and throat – for those involved in cunnilingus, or oral sex. The viruses, which are agents in these diseases, are sexually transmitted. Thus, while oral and anal sex may be very appealing to some people, even within marriages, it is fraught with health implications,” Josiah said.
Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State Chapter, Dr. Francis Faduyile, said cancer has increased in Nigeria over the years because “we have changed our lifestyles.” He added that consuming too much salt and food seasonings could predispose one to hypertension and associated complications.
The Managing Director of Bask Nutrition and Herbs Ltd., Dr. Patience Ikeme Ogbuli , a seasoned nutritionist, recommended regular consumption of fresh vegetables, as a means of beating NCDs.
“A simple step of doubling the five daily recommended vegetable intakes to 10, while staying within the recommended calorie level, will help to better nourish and protect the body against infections and diseases, reduce the risk of constipation and control obesity,” Ogbuli said.
Immediate past President, Dietitians Association of Nigeria (DAN) and Deputy Director/ Head of Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu State, Dr. Chika Ndiokwelu, urged Nigerians to eat right and walk briskly at least for 30 minutes on a daily basis to maintain ideal body weight as a way of overcoming rising cases of NCDs.
Daily Independent
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