Today is World Obesity day, with the theme “Treat Obesity now and avoid the consequences later” but despite all the attention paid to cutting out the risk factors and nipping the dangers of sudden death that could result from it in the bud, a significant portion of the population is rather growing more obese, writes TADE MAKINDE.
IN the olden days, especially in this part of the world, looking chubby and well-rounded was a sign of affluence or at least good living. In a community of crushing poverty, those who look rotund or packed a lot of fat in their bodies were considered well-fed. It was such people that were accorded respect and received admiration.
In the South-South state of Cross River, traditionally, women are supposed to spend some time in the fattening room before they are given out in marriage. There, skinny brides, it is said, do not often appeal to grooms-to-be; being chubby is it, though that practice is now fading out.
But that thinking is fast changing in a new world where more attention is now being paid to efficient body structures and where well-toned muscles and six packs are celebrated as the ideal of appearance. In other words, more attention is now being given to how skinny a woman is than the acquisition of fat. Being fat, therefore, is no longer a fashion statement.
Dr Richard Ajayi of Graceland Private Hospital, Palm Avenue, Mushin, Lagos, while sharing cases of obese with Sunday Tribune narrated the stories of a certain, Ade Olaiya and Mrs Sade Adewunmi.
While still a youngster, it didn’t take Olaiya, younger brother of a prominent medical doctor, more than three days to finish the medium size pack of a popular beverage. Now married with kids, he has not slowed down on his binge, his family of two children inclusive.
At almost 90 kilogrammes, Olaiya is obese, as his small stature is not healthy enough to handle the excess fat in his body. At 4 and 6, years old, his two children are already following in his obese footsteps as they weigh 6 and 8 kgs respectively, narrated Dr Ajayi.
As for Mrs Adewumi, a teacher with a private primary school in Ikeja, Lagos, she was determined long before she got married that she had to do something about her bloated body as it is causing two of her married sisters a lot of emotional pains with their different husbands.
At 5” 5, Mrs Adewumi is tall enough for a woman. Weighing 51 kilogrammes, she believes she is not doing badly trying to keep her weight in check, unlike her two elder sisters.
Luther Vandross was a popular American musician who was known for his ability to gain weight today and drastically lose it tomorrow because obesity runs in his family. Even with the best medical attention, Vandross couldn’t keep his weight under control for too long. A few years after, he died from diabetes in 2005 at the age of 54.
The silent killer
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat accumulates to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health. Sometimes it could be caused by over-feeding, heredity or sedentary lifestyle which generally allows accumulation of fat in the body. People are generally considered obese when their body mass index (BMI) is over 30 kg, with the range 25–30 kg defined as overweight.
Described by Dr Akin Bayode, a clinical psychologist at Shogunle, Oshodi, Lagos, as failure of internally controlled physiological phenomenon, obesity is a situation in which individuals find it very hard to rely on normal internal signals of hunger pangs and satiety.
“A recent research reported that fat people are more sensitive to environmental food cues. External or environmental cues are such that even the smell or sight of food is enough to cause an onset of hunger pangs in all humans, but fat people are more vulnerable to such stimuli.
“Check out those on diet; it hardly works if they are constantly bombarded by food. The temptation is always to want ‘one for now’ and the problem begins again. The research also supports alternative views that food itself is a powerful stimulus affecting obesity to set framework for strategic development,” he told Sunday Tribune.
Causes
Dr Victor Adeyefa of All Saints Hospital, Oke Ado, Ibadan, defined obesity as excess weight compared with height. But that doesn’t mean that heavyweight individuals are obese. That is why it is common to see that young kids, who are naturally expected to be slim, are heavy. “Obesity is commonly caused by a combination of excessive food intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility. It is all about food intake and the burning of excesses. If excesses are not burned off via exercises, they are accumulated as fats. These fats are then deposited in thighs, arms, buttocks, stomachs, waistlines,” the Belgium-trained medical practitioner told Sunday Tribune.
Unfortunately, most people don’t exercise as much as they should. A sedentary lifestyle is believed to be the major cause of obesity as many people don’t do much to burn excess calories in their bodies.
“When people sit idle for too long in a place either working, watching TV, etc, and don’t bother to stand from their seats for long, they don’t exercise. Even while seated, they don’t stop snacking. There is a lot of sugar in snacks, be it pop corn or pies or fries. The sugars are deposited as fats in the body which needs to be shed,” he said.
Health risks
Obesity is a health hazard. Someone who is 30 percent overweight is twice as likely to die prematurely as is an average-weight person. This is because obesity has been linked to several serious medical conditions, including heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, gallbladder disease and gallstones, osteoarthritis, gout including breathing problems such as sleep apnea and asthma.
Dr Ajayi told Sunday Tribune that the more obese a person is, the higher the chances of he or she having health problems. People who are 25 percent or more overweight can benefit a lot from losing weight, especially those with a family history of chronic diseases.
“Those with close relatives who have had heart disease or diabetes are more likely to develop these problems if they are obese. High blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, or high blood sugar levels are all warning signs of some obesity-associated diseases.
“Those whose weight is concentrated around their stomachs are at greater risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, or cancer than people of the same weight who carry their weight in their hips and buttocks.
“Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death and disability for obese people. They are more likely to have high blood pressure than those who are not overweight. Very high blood levels of cholesterol can also lead to heart disease and often are linked to being overweight. Being overweight also contributes to chest pain and sudden death from heart disease or stroke without any signs or symptoms.
Also, several types of cancer have been linked with being overweight. In women, these include cancer of the uterus, gallbladder, cervix, ovary, breast, and colon. Overweight men are at higher risk for developing colorectal and prostate cancer.
Gallbladder disease and gallstones are more common if one is overweight. The risk of disease increases as weight increases. Osteoarthritis is a common joint condition that most often affects the knee, hip, and lower back joints. Carrying extra pounds places extra pressure on these joints and wear away the cartilage that normally protects them.
Gout is a disease that affects the joints that is caused by high levels of a substance called uric acid in the blood. The large amount of uric acid can form into solid or crystal-like masses that deposit in the joints. Gout is more common in overweight people and the risk of developing the disorder increases with higher body weights.
Sleep apnea is a serious breathing condition that is associated with being overweight. Sleep apnea can cause a person to snore heavily and to stop breathing for short periods during sleep. Sleep apnea may cause daytime sleepiness and even heart failure. The risk for sleep apnea increases as body weight increases.
Type 2 diabetes reduces your body’s ability to control blood sugar. It is a major cause of early death, heart disease, stroke, and blindness. It wasn’t until Vandross died that his fans got to know that he died from complications of diabetes related to obesity. The disease was common among his family members. Overweight people are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to normal weight people.
Prevention
The good news is that losing a small amount of weight can reduce your chances of developing heart disease or a stroke. Obesity is mostly preventable through a combination of social changes and personal choices. Changes to diet and exercising are the main treatments. Reducing your weight by 10 per cent can decrease your chance of developing heart disease. One can reduce the risk of developing type 2diabetes by losing weight and exercising more. Being physically active can help to control blood sugar levels. “The easiest way to burn off calories is by exercising. The sweats shed always contain such fats. Walking long distances 2/3 times each week will go a long way in burning excess fats in the body,” stated Dr Adeyefa.
In the United States, the most popular TV commercials are those portraying lithe, sun-tanned young bodies who regularly jog, surf, swim, ride bikes and visit the gyms in various states of undress few times in a week, says Dele Filani, a Maryland, Washington-based medical practitioner.
That should be expected because foreign lifestyle, especially when it comes to diets, is now the in-thing among average Nigerians. Fast foods, confectionaries majorly, are now a basic for young ones whose parents don’t have time to cook good foods for because of the pressure of work. As today’s young ones are fed on junks, so has the number of obese Nigerians increased.
From Nigeria to USA and to Abu Dhabi, conscious efforts to keep fit and to burn excess calories can be said to be a reflection of social reality. Fitness, which is the obsession of an average American, is now a popular thing in Nigeria too. Gyms are now sprouting all over the place, while it is a common sight now to see people jog, go to play tennis, swim and engage in all forms of calorie-burning exercises. To be slim is now a fad. What many never cared about in the past in Nigeria is now a priority. It should be. Reports have it that Nigerians are now becoming an obese country as 18 % Nigerian youths and teenagers are reportedly obese.
Diet quality can also be improved by reducing the consumption of energy-dense foods, such as those high in fat and sugars, and by increasing the intake of dietary fiber.
“I take two slices of bread and lemon tea every morning, fruits in the afternoon and lime tea in the evening from Mondays to Fridays. I allow myself to eat on anything for just two days. See the result,” Mrs Adewumi toldSunday Tribune showing off her slim figure.
Apart from snacks, traditional foods should also be consumed in moderation because African foods are mostly starchy and contain carbohydrates.
“It is of no use to exercise religiously, but eat iyan, eba, amala in large quantities. These too should be reduced because they have too much carbohydrate
Improvement in medical sciences has also resulted in the mass production of drugs that kill appetite. Medications may be used, along with a suitable diet, to reduce appetite or decrease fat absorption. If diet, exercise, and medication are not effective, a gastric balloon or surgery may be performed to reduce stomach volume or length of the intestines, leading to feeling full earlier or a reduced ability to absorb nutrients from food.
But those who don’t have to work out regularly don’t know how lucky they are not to be among those who struggle day and night to keep in shape, and at the same time, burn excess fats. When told that not all people who engage in exercises sweat, the former UCH staff said it doesn’t really matter if sweats are shed or not. “Calories would still have been burned and that’s the essence of exercise.
Fortunately, even a modest weight loss of 10 to 20 pounds can bring significant health improvements, such as lowering one’s blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Dr Olaniyan Oludoyinsola of Molete Medical Centre, Ibadan, Oyo State, also advises that those who suffer from obesity should watch their lifestyle and make amends, including avoiding sedentary lifestyles. “Take more walks, instead of cabs, eat lean portions of meat and cut out processed food from your diet,” he said.
The solution to obesity according to a nurse, Mrs Olanrewaju Gbemisola, is to do more exercise in the morning and evening, take balanced diet and eat more fruits.
As good as these prescriptions are, it is almost impossible to eradicate obesity because the younger generation is just so much in love with those things that could make them fat. Though cutting on junk food that is bad news for the fast food joints, literally, the elite are the biggest culprits who believe that those places are just the right places to take their children in order to exhibit their social status of having arrived.
—Additional reports by Blessing Abiodun, Grace Bulus and Temidayo Akolawole