We are doing things the wrong way now – Mong

Obesity and acute malnutrition are far too different, but both are found in Nigeria, one more than the other. Is it an issue of poverty? The acute malnutrition you see in Nigeria is not about poverty. I feel it is more about feeding practices, because in this country there are a lot of foods one […]

Obesity and acute malnutrition are far too different, but both are found in Nigeria, one more than the other. Is it an issue of poverty?

The acute malnutrition you see in Nigeria is not about poverty. I feel it is more about feeding practices, because in this country there are a lot of foods one can take and live so well that malnutrition will not occur or worse acute malnutrition. Unfortunately, most people do not know it and the people that know don’t know how to use it to their advantage so you find people dying out of ignorance.

In the state where I am working at the moment, you find children with acute malnutrition: the sight is frightening, no woman should allow her child to be in such condition. If you have an opportunity to see children with acute malnutrition, you will find out that their mothers are healthy, so the problem is not lack of food but the combination, and how they eat.

My motto is always “eat right and live well”. I do not believe in strict dieting like depriving yourself of some foods, but if you know the right thing to eat, you will find out that you will be very healthy. And exercise. I don’t mean everybody should go to the gym; I am talking about movement, so that you can burn what you take in. Some people spend a lot of time on their couch watching television and they eat everything they see. If you know the right thing to eat and you move around you will be healthy.
Africa is so blessed because we have so much organic foods, unlike in the UK where people spend so much money trying to get organic. In Nigeria or Africa, at the back of your house you have okra, ugwu and other vegetables. But if you talk about obesity, you realise that some Nigerians are trying to be like the Joneses, everybody in Nigeria wants to be like the Americans and those in the UK.

Is being like the Joneses the reason obesity is increasing among Nigerian children?
Obesity is not peculiar to the Western world, it is simply over indulging oneself, you find out that parents are using their money to buy obesity. Because they have money they want to give their children chocolates and everything. The name of the game is moderation. When they give their children all sorts, you find out that they are over indulging and blowing the kids.

What should guide how much food you eat?
The quantity is dependent on your body weight. What we do with a client is to measure their body weight, know what you are supposed to eat, calculate it, know how many calories your body should take in a day to balance it. As a nutritionist, it is not always good to put people in straitjacket; it is not a do-or-die thing. It is better for you to know you have that liberty, outline it yourself and know that if you eat this it will be too much for you.

Going by a feeding plan, what would be the right food in principle?
There are different nutrients your body needs: carbohydrate, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins and water, and each has its own advantage to your body. For clients, we try to ask them basic questions that would inform us, so that the advice you would be giving will solely be from what you know. Asking that question is important because you get to know the person’s medical history, lifestyle. I say life style because it is 80 percent nutrition.

How then can a balance be struck between eating to satisfy hunger and eating to live right?
When you talk about hunger, we have hormones that send messages to our system about hunger, so hunger led to deprivation, and when the person realise that, he may abuse the food at that moment, so I don’t advise my clients to starve themselves. This is where the client has work to do, ours is to guide.
Deprivation is not the best way to diet. You cannot just stop eating pounded yam, or you love ice cream and refuse to take it again. When you do that for about a month, that is if you are very disciplined, by the second month, you are dying to have a bite and once you do, you go crazy for it. That is why you notice that people who diet are not consistent; today they are up, tomorrow they are back again. Again it is human nature to go for what you are told not to take; you feel you are punishing yourself if you are not getting that thing. The way I counsel my clients, we work it out, if the person likes ice cream, for instance, ironically I put it in your menu, but the quantity or portion matters. We calculate it so that in all you get the required calories for the day. I encourage a lot of vegetable, a lot of fruits because you can’t go wrong with that.

A lot of Nigerians don’t know about food triangle, and what to prioritise and diet, what should be taken more?
The Harvard School of Public Health came up with a new triangle last year December. The previous food pyramid tells you, for instance, to eat oil sparingly. The old food pyramid is so strict, but the new one is so relaxing, not that you should eat yourself to death, but it gives you a free hand. The old pyramid says to avoid oil, the new one encourages you to take oil because oil is needed to digest most of the vitamins, especially the oil soluble vitamins. Exercise is the ultimate. Eat a lot of vegetables, and sweet potatoes. There is kuka in the northern part of Nigeria which is very good, even moringa, they are everywhere in this country. Eating them raw is even better. Okra is my favourite so I make it crunchy and it retains the nutrient.

Local foods are those routinely eaten, but they are becoming “exotic delicacies” eaten only on occasions.
We are doing things up side down now. Cast your mind back to those days in the village: I remember vividly people look so fit and healthy. They go to the farm – that is exercise – they walk to the farm and work and when they want to eat, they go to the garden and get vegetables that are fresh, not processed food.
We as Nigerians have to look inwards, because we only have this life, no duplicate. I always advise people to make out time to take care of their body. I also want people to take a lot of water, and I plead with mothers to go for exclusive breast feeding that is the foundation for proper life.