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Shedding
some weight is no longer a beauty tip these days. It is now the advice
experts — especially cardiologists — hand out to their patients daily.
Recent studies and researches have
showed that more Nigerians are becoming obese, and this is to the
detriment of their health. Scientists say being overweight could
increase an individual’s risks for at least 10 diseases including
stroke, diabetes, cancers and cardiovascular disease, all of which could
cut short one’s life.
Life expectancy could reduce by five to
10 years unless aggressive efforts are made to halt obesity, according
to a team of scientists supported in part by the National Institute on
Aging.
Also, a physician with PathCare
Laboratories, Lagos, Dr. Olushola Shobowale, says the Nigerian culture,
which in many cases, favour fat bodies, thus encouraging diets rich in
bad cholesterol, as well as policies which hold no restriction on
alcohol consumption, makes obesity a huge health problem.
Shobowale notes that just being
overweight, not even obese, can affect blood pressure in an unfavourable
way. He also discloses that chronic high blood pressure is one of the
many conditions that can decrease life expectancy in adults.
On how being overweight causes hypertension, Dr. Robert Miller, in her column on Sharecare.com,
says being overweight directly leads to high blood pressure due to
increased pressure caused by fat on some tissues in the body.
Miller says, “When there is increased
weight, it takes more pressure to move the blood around the body. When
the weight gain is in the abdominal area, there is a greater risk of
high blood pressure because this type of fat is more likely to cause the
arteries to become thick and stiff. “When the pipes (the blood vessels)
get stiff, it is harder to push the blood through. When it gets hard to
move blood around the body, there is an increase in adrenalin. This
will increase salt retention and further increase blood pressure.”
You may also need to lose weight to
reduce your risk of diabetes. Studies conducted under the Diabetes
Prevention Programme shows that about 80 per cent of people with type 2
diabetes are overweight or obese.
It states, “Insulin carries sugar from
blood to the cells, where it is used for energy; but fat causes cells to
change, such that they become resistant to this hormone (insulin). When
this happens, blood sugar cannot be taken up by the cells, resulting in
high blood sugar; and the cells that produce insulin must work extra
hard to try to keep blood sugar normal. This may cause the cells to
gradually fail and lead to type 2 diabetes.”
Experts at the Centre for Prevention and
Health Services Research, National Institute for Public Health and the
Environment, US led by Dr. Rik Bogers, concluded after combining data
of 302,296 participants, that being obese increases one’s chance of
developing coronary heart diseases by 47 per cent, compared to those of
normal weight.
“People who are overweight or obese
often have health problems that may increase their risk for heart
disease. These health problems include high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, and high blood sugar. In addition, excess weight may cause
changes to your heart that make it work harder to send blood to all the
cells in your body.
“The present study indicates that
adverse effects of overweight on blood pressure and cholesterol levels
could account for about 45 per cent of the increased risk of coronary
heart disease,” the authors write.
Also, gaining weight as an adult
increases the risk for several cancers. Experts on the Weight
Information Control Network explain that fat cells may release hormones
that affect cell growth, leading to cancer.
To reduce the risk, scientists say
strategies that produce successful weight loss, which include improved
eating habits and increased physical activity, play a vital role in
preventing obesity.
Hammering on exercise, Shobowale says
weight loss through daily exercise could do the trick, such as 10-15
minutes of walking around the house; or up and down a few flights of
stairs at work could do the trick.
He says, “The average life expectancy in
the United States is 77 and 79 for men and women respectively. Here, it
is 47 and 49 because of our poor lifestyles. Exercise is a huge
challenge in Nigeria, especially for the working class. That is why we
weigh more and live less longer. We must realise that being overweight
can kill you before your time.
“Make sure you crack a sweat. Engage
yourself in an exercise, at least for 30 minutes or more, preferably,
all days of the week. Examples include walking a 15-minute mile, or
weeding and hoeing the garden.”
Shobowale also recommends that anybody above the age of 35 should cut their meat, salt and sugar intake.
“As you grow older, it takes a longer
time for your body to digest meat, salt and sugars. Try to eat your food
as raw as possible. Also, eat more vegetables than meat of
carbohydrates. They contain fewer calories that the body can burn
quickly. The more you accumulate calories in the body, the more you call
for stroke, heart attacks and diabet
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