By Leocadia Bongben
Nutrition experts have said that obesity - unwanted fat that poses a major health problem which results in diseases like diabetes milletus, hypertension and a host of others is a major problem in Africa.
The experts expressed this worry during the maiden edition Nutrition and Scientific Days at the University of Yaounde 1, organised under the theme "Nutrition and Health: A Crucial Health Partnership".
The Nutrition Scientific Days which opened with free diabetes and hypertension screening falls within the framework of rally scientists to coordinate efforts. To Professor Julius Oben, Coordinator of the Nutrition and Scientific Days, lack of information on what it means to have good nutrition is a major challenge in promoting good health.
He said it is against this backdrop that the Nutrition and Scientific Days is instituted to sensitise the public on the dangers of undernourishment.In order to sustain the constant flow of information, he announced the creation of a nutrition society that would be making known the results of researches in the area of nutrition.
"Gone are the days when a pot belly was a sign of good living," Oben said. He added that obesity, which was initially a problem of the West, has become a major preoccupation in Africa.
Statistics indicate that 28 percent of the Cameroonian population is obsessed and is likely to reach 35 percent in the next five years.This situation is attributed to changes in eating habits which now tend to be more Westernised.
He said diseases like hypertension and heart diseases have devastating consequences that lead to death. As a measure to avoid obesity, Oben said individuals should endeavour to maintain a reasonable weight level, limit intake of fatty foods and consume foods with unsaturated fats.
Oben encouraged the consumption of fruits and vegetables, less sugar and more physical exercises. He equally reiterated the need to educate the public and governmental efforts to put in place structures to facilitate the sensitisation.
In his inaugural lesson, Professor Tola Atinm, President of the Federation of African Nutrition Scientists, emphasised the break down in the eating habits of Africans exacerbated by globalisation and urbanisation.
Also a lecturer at the Department of Human Nutrition at the University of Ibadan, Tola maintained that there is increase use of motorised transportation, use of labour saving devices, increase television and computer games for children amongst others, which often lead to non-communicable diseases.
Opening the Nutrition Scientific Days, the Rector of the University of Yaounde 1, Dr. Limumga Dorothy Njeuma, hailed the efforts of the Laboratory of Nutrition and Nutritional Biochemistry and the Department of Biochemistry of the University I and other partners who organised the seminar.
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