Not too long ago, I was meeting up with a client in a
fast food restaurant somewhere in the Ikeja suburb of Lagos when a facially
good looking man walked in with a young
lad in tow obviously his son as they shared so much resemblance by a mere look
at them. He was a bulky sized man who could probably be in his early forties
but looked much older as a result of being overweight.
The man moved towards the
counter and made his order “please can I have a portion of rice with three
portions of fried plantain and a bottle of soft drink” he looked upon the
little lad who was looking up at him waiting anxiously to be asked what he
wanted and said “hey little man, what would you like”?
The little lad with excitement in his eyes and after a quick
thought answered “daddy I want two meat pies, one doughnut and one of that
thing” pointing to a couple of fiesta in an encasement on the counter. “And oh
can I also have one piece of the roasted chicken” he added looking pleadingly
at the dad who also nodded with approval to his request.
Seated within a short distance away from them and an earshot
from where we (my client and I) sat, were two ladies. The slimmer one who
looked more like a weight-watcher went thus “that’s how it all starts when they
indulge them from this age with junk foods and then start complaining about
their weight later on in life” as she mused over a piece of chicken she was
holding.
“Why would he complain, when he himself is looking that way? I
guess that was how he started with junk food now the son is ...” The second
lady replied with a cynical tone of voice but hushed after she suspected that
someone else could be listening to their discussion.
It is no doubt that the food sector of the hospitality
industry is one of the largest employers of labour in the country and even the
world at large. This has led to the rise and rise of fast food outlets and
eateries of all kinds all over the place. It is now even common place to find
families seated at eateries in the mornings.
Lately, there have been reports of several people in the
country who have battled or are battling with different health challenges. These
people include those in government, Politicians, Entrepreneurs, Celebrities, (within and outside
the movie and music industry) as well the general public/masses have not
been left out as well. Even though some of the causes of these health
challenges are either as a result of several other factors, nevertheless, it is
no surprise to mention here that eating habits have a large influence on the
state of our health, hence food is in one way or the other linked to the health
challenges that a lot of people are battling with presently.
Given the poor state of medical infrastructure and facilities
in the country, it behoves on every Nigerian to be cautious of what they put
into their mouths or consume on a daily basis. Regardless of the fact that a
lot of studies have shown a link between several of junk foods and obesity,
diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, elevated
cholesterol intake, related cancers, and other health problems, a lot of
individuals still throw caution to the winds when it relates to their eating
habits. Nowadays, it is no longer just a matter of whether one has the wherewithal
to be flown abroad because one may be too unfortunate to even make it whilst
being flown abroad in cases of emergencies; at the end of the day, the money would
not have saved the individual.
According to a report sometime in 2010, faraway in America, a
Bronx man who had become overweight and also had suffered a heart attack,
wanted four famous fast food chains in America to pay for serving him the
finger-licking food that gave rise to his fatness. The obese man who weighed
about two hundred and seventy pounds claimed that these four famous fast food
chains put his health at risk with their greasy and salty foods and hence filed
a lawsuit at the New York State Supreme Court in Bronx on behalf of himself and
a number of other Obese and ill New Yorkers who also feasted on fast food. His
argument was that these fast foods did not properly disclose the ingredients of
their food and the risks of eating too much of it. A few years earlier, McDonald’s
had settled a $12 million lawsuit and apologised for wrongly describing its
French fries as vegetarian. Recently the Food Standards Agency in Scotland
(FSAS) announced the introduction of a new front-of-pack nutrition labelling
scheme to show how much fat, saturated fat, salt, sugar, energy etc is in a
product so that consumers would be aware of the contents of what they are
buying and thereby make healthier choices. This new initiative is colour-coded
red, amber and green (just like the traffic light colours) to draw attention to
the percentage of calories in a product.
“To an extent, one would agree with the obese man...”
according to Dr Emmanuel Uko, a medical practitioner “especially of the same opinion with him that the fast food industry
has a responsibility to notify consumers of the dangers of eating from their
menu. I applaud the Food Standards Agency of Scotland for their new initiative and
I hope the National Agency for Food and
Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Nigeria would intently follow such
examples to protect Nigerian consumers”.
On the other hand, Mr Ogundare, a supervisor in one of the
fast food service providers in Lagos is of the view that the obese man was just
negligent of his health. In his words, “the obese man ought to have known that
99% of foods consumed in fast-food joints are high in cholesterol, fat and
salt. All he needed to do was to simply discipline or control himself and his
eating habit; after all he wasn’t forced to eat the food, was he”? He asked feigning annoyance.
It is noteworthy for everyone not to think that it is only at
fast food restaurants that one gets to eat junk. A lot of preserved imported
food items that flood our markets on a daily basis are also detrimental to our
health. But because of the trending ‘foreign item’ syndrome that is all over
the place, a lot of ignorant citizens prefer to eat such chemicalised and over
processed/preserved food items as against our locally naturally grown foods back
home.
Dr (Mrs) Uyoyo Scott a gynaecologist and paediatrician had
this to say “it is not only these so-called junk foods that are disadvantageous
to health. Let’s not talk about the environment where the food is prepared.
Even eating too much of the so called ‘balanced diet’ could become harmful to
one’s health whether imported or locally grown. When a person eats too much, he
or she is prone to becoming obese. Can you imagine a person eating five fried
eggs for breakfast everyday? The human body needs a bit of every good food but when you
indulge too much in these foods, you are bound to becoming obese or face a
health challenge. I don’t think anybody needs to be told about the effect of
eating junk food or too much food especially when one is no longer a kid.
However for the sake of the younger generation and those who claim ignorance of
food contents, it would be worth pursuing for our Nigerian food control agency
to follow suit in the steps of the FSA of Scotland by instituting a law that
obligates producers of packaged food items as well as food service providers to
make available a comprehensive nutritional information on their packaged items
and there should also be a way to use it at the fast food restaurants and
outlets wherever they are located”.
On a lighter note, Mr Demola Disu, a fitness instructor said
“people tend to eat too much, especially cheap food or when the food is free.
You need to see how people combine different types of food at events for
instance since the food is free. I prefer to eat at the ‘mama puts’, and please
when I say mama put, I mean the upgraded kind of mama put that we have around
these days... “He paused with a smile and continued” ... as they prepare fresh
food all day long. However on a more serious note, whether you eat a balanced
diet, nutritional, junk food or excess food, the most important way to stay
healthy is for you to involve yourself in some form of daily exercise or
aerobics and a routine medical check up”.
By the time we were done meeting and on our way out of the
eatery, we were surprised to see the bulky looking sized man eating off some of
the son’s snacks and a second look at his own empty plate left me with a
nostalgic feeling that the man indeed needs help with his eating habit. My client
was left with a questioning look on his face and could not say a word even when
we were out of hearing and in the car park.
My solemn recommendation is, seriously this is no time to
still be negligent about our eating habits irrespective of the place, at home
or wherever you eat. Watch what you eat no matter what it is whether junk or
nutritional foods as what we eat have both positive and adverse effects on our
health, therefore “moderation and exercise” are the watchwords. With the
present alarming mortality rate, let’s just try and take charge by properly
controlling ourselves and staying healthy. Peace!!!
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