Dangerous eating habits: Are you rich and hungry?

You see them crowded in fast food joints every day. They are rich and hungry owing to their lifestyle choices.

It has become hard to escape unhealthy food in the country. There are posters everywhere. In supermarkets, on bus stops and billboards, full colour displays of mouthwatering deals for fizzy drinks, burgers, pizzas, fried chicken, you name it, catch your attention.

Children are now gradually losing the way on weight. Statistics show that a large number of youngsters are carrying a dangerous amount of weight and have dietary issues, thanks to unhealthy eating.

In fact, studies suggest that children raised in upper-class families have an increased risk of developing emotional disturbances, are more likely to have disturbed eating patterns, have body image issues, and are at a greater risk of developing eating disorders than children from middle-class families.

Even if you can afford buying your children junk food daily and they look happy eating it, there are nutritional consequences for overdoing it.

Rhoda Mutuku, a psychologist in Nairobi, says when children are obese, they tend to have low self-esteem and are susceptible to bullying. “Self-worth is much lower in children with obesity compared to those with a healthy weight in six of nine-year-olds. This is a critical time in their lives, so the damage may be hard to undo once they become adults,” she says.

Worrying BMI

She says factors such as peer rejection, weight-related teasing and internalised social standards play a major role in diminishing an obese child’s self-esteem. “Self-esteem affects numerous aspects of health and behaviour, including social adjustment, activity engagement, goal direction and the presence of anxiety,” she says.

More children are now facing challenges with their weight even as a flagship report by Unicef warns that the number of those suffering as a result of poor diets and a failing food system is alarmingly high worldwide.

Almost two-thirds of infants aged six months to two years are not fed a diet that supports their growing bodies and brains, according to the UN assessment. As a consequence, they are at risk of poor brain development and learning ability, reduced immunity and infection, and, in a lot of cases, death.

The report describes a triple burden of malnutrition – undernutrition, a lack of essential nutrients, and overweight among children aged under five years.

Here in Kenya, children living in affluent areas are now more likely to have a dangerously high body mass index (BMI) than their counterparts in deprived areas, raising the risk of heart disease and type two diabetes and even certain cancers. BMI is a standard health assessment tool in most healthcare facilities.

The number of malnourished citizens continues to rise to epic proportions, with experts warning that most Kenyans are now suffering from micronutrient deficiency.

Paediatricians and public health experts say most Kenyans are currently taking more than the recommended dietary intake of 2,200 calories a day, which leads to excess energy converted to fat and a growing number of obese Kenyans.

They say childhood obesity is becoming a worrying trend in the country.

Dr Thomas Ngwiri, the chairperson of the Kenya Paediatric Association, says some contributing factors to weight gain and obesity may include easy access to unhealthy food options, growing portion sizes and increasingly sedentary culture.

Breakfast cereal culprit

Dr Ngwiri has also noticed some common behaviours among parents that may unknowingly lead to unhealthy habits in children. “When children are overweight, they tend to suffer from a number of problems. They are less active and cannot interact with their peers. They also have difficulty in breathing especially when sleeping,” he says.

Apart from low self-esteem, the children have long-term problems like joint pains and they suffer from non-communicable diseases.
“This has a direct consequence on the formation of potentially lifelong, unhealthy food preferences associated with the development of obesity and all that comes with it. Although food preferences can be unlearned, this is often a monumental task as we age,” says the expert.

Dr Bernard Thuo, a nutritionist, cites culprits such as breakfast cereals, which lack fibre and protein that help in keeping the sugar levels stable in the morning as well as sweetened drinks, pastries and cheese, which can be found in foods like pasta and pizza.

Other foods to watch out for are as basic as chewing gum, which tricks the body to expect food and release gastric juice in the stomach and in turn causes pain. "When you do not get the recommended dietary intake or you overconsume a certain food group, you’re in trouble. For example, if more than 50 per cent of what you eat in a day is carbohydrates, then the excess energy is converted to fat and that leads to obesity,” he said.

Dr Thuo warns of a ticking time bomb with the increased number of Kenyans taking more than the recommended calories, about 40 to 50 per cent of carbohydrates, 10 to 15 per cent protein and less than 30 per cent fat in a day.

The most common problem in the country at the moment, according to him, is micronutrient deficiency. The most prevalent form of micronutrient deficiency is iron deficiency, affecting more than 25 per cent of people worldwide.

He says certain population groups, especially women and children, are at a greater risk of micronutrient deficiencies. Micronutrients are critical for a well-functioning immune system, which is of utmost importance during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although nutrients are compounds required by the body to perform various functions, the body does not make most of these on its own, and relies on the food consumed as their source.

When people fail to eat a healthy, balanced diet that provides the body with the right amount of nutrients, it can lead to deficiencies, and then disrupt various functions.

“If a population has a poor status for key micronutrients such as vitamin A, zinc or vitamin D, then they may be less equipped to mount a proper immune response when exposed to viral or bacterial infections than if they had adequate micronutrient status,” says Dr Thuo.

“This number is especially high in school going children under five years of age because it rises to 47 per cent in preschool children. Unless they are given iron-rich or iron-fortified foods, they are very likely to lack iron.”

Hard to detect

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), iron deficiency affects more people than any other condition. This is because it cannot be easily detected unlike protein-energy malnutrition. Iron deficiency exacts its heaviest overall toll in terms of ill-health, premature death and lost earnings.

“Iron deficiency and anaemia reduce the work capacity of individuals and entire populations, bringing serious economic consequences and obstacles to national development,” says WHO.

Dr Thuo explains: “Detecting micronutrient deficiency is not easy because we have to do a body composition analysis.  This has to be done in a lab and you cannot tell someone lacks nutrients by just looking at them,” he says.

The Kenya micronutrient survey shows that compared to the previous national results, there is a considerable improvement in the micronutrient status in the population except for zinc deficiency whose prevalence is higher.

“This may be attributed to the combined impact of the programmes implemented by the Ministry of Health and partners. What needs to be done now is to scale up the implementation of high impact nutrition interventions,” the report states.

It further indicates that about 45 per cent of child deaths and 10 per cent of total global disease burden is attributed to maternal and child undernutrition.

A research paper written by JW Kamau and team, published in the Kenyatta University Institutional Repository, shows 6.9 per cent of pupils in private schools are obese while 16.7 per cent overweight. In public schools, 1.6 per cent are obese and 5.7 per cent overweight.
The study found significant differences in body composition between boys and girls, with female pupils being more susceptible to overweight and obesity.

The Ministry of Health’s 2015 STEPwise survey found 27 per cent of Kenyans were either overweight or obese, with 38.5 per cent being women and 17.5 per cent men. Among urbanites, prevalence was 12 per cent and seven per cent for rural dwellers. A notable feature of devolution being morphing of rural areas into urban ones, this portends doom for rural county statistics.

A proposal made for sodas to have a “sugar tax” has never been implemented in the country.

But, it is not all doom and gloom. Reducing sodium and sugar intake early on can help set taste preferences for children, helping make healthy food choices later in life.

“Parents need to look carefully at nutrition labels when selecting commercial toddler and infant foods as well as snacks, desserts and juices. Choose products lower in added sugar and sodium because children are also exposed to countless adverts on television, streaming services, video games, social media, and most websites,” he advises.

Diet plan

The vitamin A supplement provided for children under five is not enough and he advises parents to go the extra mile in ensuring they provide the best diet for their children. “In addition to immunity, vitamin A is primarily known to be supremely beneficial for your eyes,” he says.

Consuming more of vitamins A, D and E may help lower respiratory complaints, according to research published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health.

Evidence suggests that unhealthy Western diets can promote chronic inflammation and lower the immune system’s defence to viruses.
Simply weighing yourself on a bathroom scale is not enough to assess the body composition. “It is important to get an estimate of your body fat percentage by taking simple measurements and entering them into a body fat percentage calculator,” says the nutritionist.

Once this is done, it is easy to work on a diet plan that caters to your body needs that incorporates all food groups.