Angela Onwuzoo
Medical experts have cautioned Nigerians against overeating during the yuletide and at all times, warning that the habit unknown to many people comes with a lot of health problems.
They said it was wrong for people to eat in excess because they have seen free food, warning that overeating could lead to non-communicable diseases such as heart attack, cancer, diabetes, obesity and hypertension.
The experts who spoke in exclusive interviews with Reportr Door HealthWise identified greed as one of the major reasons why people overeat beyond the capacity of their stomachs.
A Consultant Endocrinologist/Physician at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade, told our correspondent that every organ in the body suffers when an individual overeats.
Prof. Fasanmade, who is the President of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Society of Nigeria, said overeating is bad, stressing that anything done in excess is bad.
The endocrinologist explained, “If you overeat, you stand the risk of indigestion, that is the immediate risk and you won’t be comfortable.
“And if you also overfeed a child, the child can also vomit. But for adults is just mainly indigestion and abdominal pain. That is the immediate effect.
“It is the long-term effect that is obesity. If you are overeating every day, the body has to store the excess and that will lead to obesity and then plenty of fat in the blood which is high cholesterol.
“Overeating can lead to plenty of fat in the liver which is fatty liver. And all of those things are what lead to diabetes, hypertension, and heart attack. Excess food leads to damage to all the organs of the body. And over time, if you eat food excessively, you have a higher risk of cancer.”
The physician urged people to eat in moderation, adding that those in the habit of overeating are bringing sicknesses upon themselves.
“Anybody that is overeating and he is doing that every day wants to kill himself. Overeating is unhealthy. It will bring sickness. Every organ of the body suffers when you overeat.
“The heart suffers, breathing suffers, the stomach suffers, the lung suffers. And if a person cannot sleep because he has overeaten, he cannot be sharp mentally,” he warned.
Also speaking, a Professor of Nursing Science at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Prof. Mary Mgbekem, said overeating occurs when an individual consumes more food than the body can utilize to make energy or about the energy that is expended through physical activities or excretion.
Prof. Mgbekem, who is a nurse nutritionist listed several factors that result in overeating among individuals.
“Alcohol consumption (1-2 servings) and watching television (25-45 minutes) according to Holwegner (2014) often result in increased ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone. This in turn leads to impaired inhibition causing the reward centre of the brain to be activated, causing the individual to want more food.
“Sleep deprivation of fewer than 5.5 hours negatively affects the blood sugar clearance and insulin sensitivity as well as reduces leptin, a hormone that suppresses appetite.
“Stress eating: Research has shown that long-term stress floods the body with cortisol, a hormone that plays a part in the fight or flight system, thus causing the body to want to refuel itself after a stressful encounter,” she said.
According to her, fatigue, stress, anxiety, and peer pressure also result in overeating.
Continuing, Prof. Mgbekem said, “The festive periods like Christmas and New Year are festive periods with dietary excesses that many people cannot control.
“During festive periods, people overeat due to social obligations or due to their emotional connection with food.
“The festive season is a time when families gather among themselves and friends over a feast of delicacies and drinks as they catch up on each other’s lives in the past years. On such occasions, the tendency to overindulge in the rich festive foods typically leads to overeating.”
The nutritionist enumerated symptoms of overeating to include, an expanded stomach beyond normal size, discomfort, feeling tired, sluggish or drowsy, heartburn and bloating.
Recommending the way forward, the don urged people to avoid a diet that makes them demand more than required.
“Avoid skipping meals, practice mindfulness, stay hydrated, try yoga, eat more fibre, lean out the kitchen, eat breakfast every day, get enough sleep, increase protein intake, plan your meals,” she said.
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