Health: Expert counsels Nigerians on obesity

A Consultant Physician/ Nephrologist and Clinical Director, St Nicholas Hospital, Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, has urged Nigerians to embrace good dietary habits and exercise to prevent obesity.

He said that cases of obesity-induced kidney failure could be reduced with these measures.

Bamgboye, who noted that more than 600 million adults were obese worldwide, said this on Thursday during a free screening for cholesterol, blood pressure and other tests organised by the SNH, Lagos,  to commemorate the World Kidney Day.

He said that after hypertension, obesity was the second highest risk factor for kidney failure, adding that obese people were more predisposed to Acute Kidney Injury, a condition which could be reversed once the individual lost weight.

“Individuals affected by obesity have an 83 per cent increased risk of developing kidney failure compared to individuals with a healthy weight. According to the World Health Organisation, at least 1.8million people die each year as a result of being obese or overweight. In individuals affected by obesity, the kidneys have to work harder, filtering more blood than normal to meet the metabolic demands of the increased body weight.

 “Doctors are questioning the Body Mass Index as the definitive way to measure obesity. Experts now say waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio, which indicates levels of abdominal fat,  is a more accurate guide.

“If you are obese, you are more likely to develop hypertension, the leading cause of kidney failure. It is frightening because if obesity in young children continues to rise, the children of this age will be the first generation that will not live to the age of their parents. If children can stop watching television for two weeks, their waist lines will drop by an inch.

Aside from eating a healthy diet that is high in fibre, Bamgboye urged Nigerians to engage in frequent exercise to avoid being overweight and obese.

He said, “If you are obese by age 20, your life span is shortened by 13 years if you are a black man and, by five years, if you are a black woman. Parents must encourage their children to exercise and eat healthy food to avoid renal failure.’’