Malnutrition silent epidemic in Nigeria — Expert

While Nigeria continues to fight COVID-19 pandemic, a nutrition expert, Professor Ibiyemi Olayiwola, has warned on the silent malnutrition epidemic in Nigeria due to poor consumption of a diet rich in protein.

Professor Olayiwola, a nutrition and dietetic expert at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, spoke at the third Protein Challenge digital dialogue with the theme ‘Empowering Women to Break the Cycle of Malnutrition in Nigeria’.

The expert said although individuals may develop immunity against many diseases, there is no immunity against malnutrition.

She stated that the malnutrition epidemic is affecting all age groups and cutting across all social status, adding “If your nutritional status is bad, then you are exposed to under-nutrition or over-nutrition.”

Professor Olayiwola declared that malnutrition has short and long-term consequences, adding, “a child not taking in enough protein and micronutrients will have poor growth and will be falling sick many times. In the long-term, it can lead to poor economic productivity.”

She stated that women are important in breaking the cycle of malnutrition in Nigeria, urging that they be empowered on their health, nutrition household economy, education and agriculture to ensure that the intergenerational cycle of growth failure in Nigeria can be broken through good nutrition.

Dr Adepeju Adeniran, a public health physician, stated that targeting protein intake within a Nigeria’s nutrition policy is important because many cultures do not prioritise protein intake in their diet, which often results in protein malnutrition in the different age groups.

She stated that although many people associate protein malnutrition to extreme conditions as kwashiorkor and marasmus, in children under five, its mild cases show up as increased propensity to infections, abnormalities in skin and eye health and poor hair development.

Dr Adeniran added that especially with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a diet that is poor in essential proteins will increase individuals’ susceptibility to viral infections, including coronavirus.

She stated that the cost of protein malnutrition is both at the individual and social levels and to stop it will require making protein-rich foods affordable and available as well as increasing women’s knowledge about them while increasing people’s overall income.

Dr Adeniran, added, “the key spots for intervention in a nutritional policy is the information about food items, availability and affordability.”

Mrs Josephine Chukwunweike, a certified nutritionist and an entrepreneur, stated that establishment of home gardens and bridging women’s knowledge gap on proteinous foods and meal planning is important in breaking the cycle of malnutrition, especially at the grassroots.

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