Dr. Francis SANWO

To ensure a healthy lifestyle, WHO recommends eating lots of fruits and vegetables, reducing fat, sugar and salt intake and exercising. Based on height and weight, people can check their body mass index (BMI) to see if they are overweight.

Healthy Eating.

Consuming a healthy diet throughout the life-course helps prevent malnutrition in all its forms as well as a range of non-communicable diseases and conditions. But the increased production of processed food, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars or salt/sodium, and many do not eat enough fruit, vegetables and dietary fibre such as whole grains.

The exact make-up of a diversified, balanced and healthy diet will vary depending on individual needs (e.g. age, gender, lifestyle, degree of physical activity), cultural context, locally available foods and dietary customs. But basic principles of what constitute a healthy diet remain the same.

For adults and older children.

A healthy diet contains: Fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils, beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice).

At least 400 g (5 portions) of fruits and vegetables a day.  Eat a variety of vegetables and fruits, preferably fresh and local, several times per day.                     

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots are not classified as fruits or vegetables.

Less than 10% of total energy intake from free sugars  which is equivalent to 50 g (or around 12 level teaspoons) for a person of healthy body weight consuming approximately 2000 calories per day, but ideally less than 5% of total energy intake for additional health benefits . Most free sugars are added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and can also be found in sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.

Less than 30% of total energy intake from fats. Unsaturated fats (e.g. found in fish, avocado, nuts, sunflower, canola and olive oils) are preferable to saturated fats (e.g. found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese). Replace fatty meat and meat products with beans, legumes, lentils, fish, poultry or lean meat.                                                                                                      Industrial trans fats (found in processed food, fast food, snack food, fried food, frozen pizza, pies, cookies, margarines and spreads) are not part of a healthy diet.     Use milk and dairy products (kefir, sour milk, yoghurt and cheese) that are low in both fat and salt.

Select foods that are low in sugar, and eat free sugars sparingly, limiting the frequency of sugary drinks and sweets.

Less than 5g of salt (equivalent to approximately 1 teaspoon) per day and use iodized salt. Choose a low-salt diet. Total salt intake should not be more than one teaspoon (5g) per day, including the salt in bread and processed, cured and preserved foods. (Salt iodization should be universal where iodine deficiency is a problem).

For infants and young children

In the first 2 years of a child’s life, optimal nutrition fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development. It also reduces the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life.

Advice on a healthy diet for infants and children is similar to that for adults, but the following elements are also important.

Infants should be breastfed exclusively during the first 6 months of life.

From 6 months of age, breast milk should be complemented with a variety of adequate, safe and nutrient dense complementary foods.                                                                                                                Benefits of a balanced diet

Opting for a balanced, adequate and varied diet is an important step towards a happy and healthy lifestyle.

Vitamins and minerals in the diet are vital to boost immunity and healthy development,

A healthy diet can protect the human body against certain types of diseases, in particular non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer and skeletal conditions.

Healthy diets can also contribute to an adequate body weight.

Healthy eating is a good opportunity to enrich life by experimenting with different foods from different cultures, origins and with different ways to prepare food.

The benefits of eating a wide variety of foods are also emotional, as variety and colour are important ingredients of a balance diet.

                                                                                                                                                   A healthy diet helps protect against malnutrition in all its forms.

Unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health.   Healthy dietary practices start early in life – breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development, and may have longer-term health benefits, like reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life.

 

 

 

Body Mass Index - BMI

BMI, formerly called the Quetelet index, is a measure for indicating nutritional status in adults. It is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of the person’s height in metres (kg/m2).

BMI	Nutritional status
Below 18.5	Underweight
18.5–24.9	Normal weight
25.0–29.9	Pre-obesity
30.0–34.9	Obesity class I
35.0–39.9	Obesity class II
Above 40	Obesity class III

The BMI ranges are based on the effect excessive body fat has on disease and death and are reasonably well related to adiposity. BMI was developed as a risk indicator of disease; as BMI increases, so does the risk for some diseases. Some common conditions related to overweight and obesity include: premature death, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, some cancers and diabetes.

BMI is also recommended for use in children and adolescents. In children, BMI is calculated as for adults and then compared with percentiles. During childhood and adolescence the ratio between weight and height varies with sex and age, so the cut-off values that determine the nutritional status of those aged 0–19 years are gender- and age-specific.

BMI is very easy to measure and calculate and is therefore the most commonly used tool to correlate risk of health problems with the weight at population level. It was developed by Adolphe Quetelet during the 19th century.

Like any other measure it is not perfect because it is only dependant on height and weight and it does not take into consideration different levels of adiposity based on age, physical activity levels and sex. For this reason it is expected that it overestimates adiposity in some cases and underestimates it in others.

Benefits of Regular Physical Activity

Regular physical activity – such as walking, cycling, or dancing – has significant benefits for health. For instance, it can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and osteoporosis, help control weight, and promote mental well-being.

Taking part in physical activity increases opportunities for socialization, networking and cultural identity. Physical activity has a positive influence on the community and society by promoting social interaction and cohesion.
 Physical activity furthermore helps to prevent and control risk behaviour, such as the use of tobacco, alcohol and other substances, unhealthy diet and violence.

The promotion of physical activity also has a positive impact on the environment. For instance, promoting walking and cycling over the use of motorized transport reduces traffic congestion, air and noise pollution.

 In many countries a significant proportion of health spending is due to the costs of managing common non-communicable diseases that are associated with inadequate physical activity. Promoting physical activity can be a highly cost-effective and sustainable public health intervention.

Active living benefits health at all ages. It is especially important to the healthy development of children and young people, and active ageing can make a dramatic difference to the well-being of older people.

Having the opportunity to enjoy quality recreation is vital to the health and personal development of all individuals, regardless of gender, functional ability, cultural background, age or socioeconomic status.