Last week was Child Health Week in Ghana, which this year was on the theme ‘Healthy eating: a key to child growth and development’, with the strapline ‘You are what you eat!’. While malnutrition is cited as the underlying cause of diseases associated with deaths among the under-fives, the week’s events also focused on the importance of preventing childhood obesity.
Overweight and obesity are on the rise in Ghana, affecting more than 3 million people out of a population of about 20 million, and it is also rising among children. The problem is particularly noticeable in urban areas – but even in rural areas obesity is rising. The health effects are also being felt, with reports of respiratory problems among children (problems that are exacerbated by obesity), and there have even been cases reported of children with type 2 diabetes.
Health professionals have called for simple solutions – parents can be encouraged to control food portion sizes at home, and opportunities for outdoor activities can be provided for children.
The Health Minister recently called for Ghanaians to work to work towards his ministry’s new aim of creating wealth through health, emphasising prevention and healthy lifestyles rather than cure.
See also Alert, ‘Concern about obesity in Ghana’ (click here >>), 26 March 2007
Source: All-Africa.com, 12 May 2008