Mombasa,KENYA:A high number of Mombasa residents are being diagnosed with obesity due to lack of balanced diet, exercise and ignorance, according to a nutritionists
Rhoda Kiseu, nutritionist at Mvita Health center says their clinic records between 15-20 cases of obesity per day saying the trend is alarming.
She attributes the lifestyle disease to poor dieting and lack of exercise. Nutritionists in Mvita sub county have been doing supervision and have noticed that most clinics that measure body Mass Index (BMI) have registered high number of patients, with some local hospitals registering almost 500 patients per month.
‘It is evident when we attend to most of our patients. Most of them are heavier compared to their heights. We discovered they like to eat a lot of oily foods, sugary foods and they avoid vegetables,’ she disclosed.
Ms Kiseu advises residents to partake vegetables in every meal to fight obesity and other lifestyle diseases.
‘It is very rare for them to include green leafy vegetable in their meals. They use eggplants and Okra when they go an extra mile, they use tomato salad which is not bad, but it’s still a problem,’ she added.
According to the nutritionist, most people are likely to be diagnosed with high BMI in the area because they do not exercise.
Ms Kiseu further explained that exercise is essential in daily activities with most cases of obese coming up because of inactivity, not necessarily going to the gym but rather walking short distances.
She also urged people to monitor their weight to avoid other lifestyle illnesses like high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and kidney failures.
Ruth Kisiayo also a nutritionist based in Tudor sub county, urged people to partake less of carbohydrate foods like ugali and chapati and instead eat more vegetables.
‘Carbohydrates like ugali, rice and chapati should be less in quantity because they are body building and can easily add your body weight. Always consider eating a lot of vegetables, ‘she said.
The nutrionists also cautioned people to avoiding over and under cooking of vegetables.
According to a healthy eating habits magazine, leafy greens, like other non-starchy vegetables, are a great addition to a person’s diet and offer countless health benefits.
Leafy greens are full of vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting phytochemicals which lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Nutritionists urge resident to visit a clinic to measure their BMI and monitor their diet for a healthy living.
