The lack of fruit consumption and six other factors are the major drivers of obesity in Nigeria, data from the Global Obesity Observatory revealed.
Though fruits contain simple sugar, which is responsible for obesity, they have some anti-obesity effects. The presence of vitamins and minerals makes them a good option for weight loss. Low consumption of fruits in Nigeria is thus the high drive for obesity in the country. Fruit consumption is low at a per capita rate of 84.2 grams per day (g/day) against the WHO 400 grams recommendation.
Nutrition expert and Senior Lecturer at Joseph Sawarn University, Makurdi, Mr Shalem Shiekuma, said Nigerians have a low fruit intake. This makes it impossible for them to enjoy the benefits of fruit consumption on body mass index.
Low exclusive infant breastfeeding is rated as the second-highest driver of obesity in the country. Data shows that only 28.7 per cent of the infants were exclusively breastfed in the country.
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Low whole grain consumption is the third-highest driver of obesity in the country. Whole grain consumption has been identified to significantly affect weight loss, including BMI, body fat percentage, waist circumference, and weight gain. Whole grain intake in Nigeria is at 28.5 g/day against the global average of 48 g/day.
Other drivers, as identified, are mental health disorders (with 3.9 per cent of the population obese due to depression and 2.7 per cent due to an anxiety disorder) and low per capita processed meat intake at 1.7 g/day, below the 58 g/day global average.
Data from Global Obesity Observatory shows that Nigeria scored 7.5 out of 10 on obesity risk. This score, which indicates a high obesity risk, was evaluated based on obesity prevalence in the country, rate of increase, the likelihood of meeting the 2025 treatment indicator, and childhood stunting level.
Obesity was estimated to have an economic cost of $2.37 billion in the country in 2019 and is expected to rise to $35.8 billion in the next 37 years.
Overweight and obesity are abnormal or excessive fat accumulation conditions that may affect an individual’s health. An adult is said to be overweight when his/her body mass index (BMI) exceeds 25 and obese when it’s greater than 30.
BMI is a simple index of weight for height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. It is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in metres (kg/m2).
A report on obesity prevalence in Nigeria shows an estimated 15.7 per cent of obesity prevalence in adult women and 5.9 per cent in men. The study acknowledged that obesity prevalence in Nigeria is lower than the regional average of 20.7 per cent for men and 9.2 per cent for women.
A study by Innocent Ijezie Chukwuonye and five others revealed that the prevalence of overweight persons in Nigeria ranged from 20.3 – 35.1 per cent, while obesity is from 8.1 – 22.2 per cent.
Davies Adeloye and his team acknowledged the lack of epidemiologic knowledge and a relatively low level of targeted public health response to obesity in Nigeria. However, their study pitched the prevalence of obesity at 12 million people in Nigeria in 2020,
Data from Global Obesity Observatory shows a 6.5 per cent prevalence of obesity in men in 2019. It was 9.9 per cent in women, 8.3 per cent in boys and 10.3 per cent in girls.
The data revealed that 18.2 per cent of the women are overweight, whereas 10.3 per cent of the boys and 16.7 per cent of the girls are overweight.
Davies Adeloye noted that obesity is far greater in women than men. He pointed out that obesity appears to be on the rise in the nation because of nutritional and epidemiological shifts brought on by demographic changes, increased affluence, urbanisation, bad lifestyles, and consumption of diets high in processed foods.
Obesity had a $2.57 billion economic cost in Nigeria in 2019. This cost is estimated as the amount of money spent on obesity-related diseases. The cost includes $477.83 million as direct costs – medical and non-medical costs such as cost of treatment and travel costs to treatment and $1.89 billion in indirect costs – absenteeism, presenteeism, and premature mortality.
Globally, over 1.9 billion persons aged 18 and older were overweight in 2016. Over 650 million of these people were obese.
The prevalence of overweight and obesity in both adults and children is rising. Globally, the prevalence of overweight or obesity among children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 quadrupled from 4 per cent to 18 per cent between 1975 and 2016.
In every continent, except for sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, more people are obese than underweight today, which is one side of the double burden of malnutrition.
Being overweight and obesity, once thought to be a problem exclusively in high-income nations, are now increasing in low- and middle-income nations, especially in metropolitan areas.
Children who are overweight or obese make up the majority of the population in developing nations, where the pace of increase has been more than 30 per cent higher than in industrialised nations.
Excess BMI is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke), diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders (especially osteoarthritis – a highly disabling degenerative disease of the joints), and some cancers (including endometrial, breast, ovarian, prostate, liver, gallbladder, kidney, and colon). The risk for these noncommunicable diseases increases with increases in BMI.
A fitness coach, Chia Akaa, said to maintain a moderate weight, one needs to maintain a healthy diet, as this is the primary cause of being overweight. He advised regular intake of water and reduction in alcohol intake. Most importantly, he said regular exercise should be practised. He said this could be as simple as an evening stroll and light jogging.
A medical practitioner, Dr Jeffrey Ajoko, said the first step is to know how to detect obesity, for which he said a regular measurement of BMI is required. After this stage, one has to reduce the intake of calories, sugar, and alcohol.
He advised everyone to avoid a sedentary lifestyle.