BY TEWODROS KASSA
Currently, the fastest growing of industrially processed foods that are dispersed across the world is posing significant harms on the health and socio-economic situation of humans. The growing concerns of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are also highly related to the increase of unhealthy diet.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), NCDs become the leading causes of loss of productive human power in the world. Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors.
The main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes. NCDs disproportionately affect people in low- and middle-income countries, where more than three quarters of global NCD deaths (31.4 million) occur.
People of all age groups, regions and countries are affected by NCDs. These conditions are often associated with older age groups, but evidence shows that 17 million NCD deaths occur before the age of 70 years. Of these premature deaths, 86 percent are estimated to occur in low- and middle-income countries. Children, adults and the elderly are all vulnerable to the risk factors contributing to NCDs, whether from unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, exposure to tobacco smoke or the harmful use of alcohol.
These diseases are driven by forces that include rapid unplanned urbanization, globalization of unhealthy lifestyles and population ageing. Unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity may show up in people as raised blood pressure, increased blood glucose, elevated blood lipids and obesity. These are called metabolic risk factors and can lead to cardiovascular disease, the leading NCDs in terms of premature deaths.
Recently, the Health Development and Anti Malaria Association (HDAMA) held a half day capacity building workshop for mainstream and social media journalists regarding the health and socio-economic impacts of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). In his welcoming speech and agenda briefing, HDAMA Deputy Executive Director Aklilu Getnet told The Ethiopian Herald that the association has been fulfilling its responsibilities of creating successive awareness on the impacts of NCDs.
Currently, it is highly engaged in massive public mobilization activities towards creating a healthy society through controlling communicable and non-communicable diseases, he said. According to him, the media sector plays significant roles to sensitize the public and address a large community. Thus, the media professionals are expected to be more aware of the health and socio-economic impacts of NCDs to support the efforts of cultivating a health society.
NCDs are not communicable from one person to the other and mainly include Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVDs), heart failure, stroke, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, chronic lung illnesses, and diabetes, among others. Unhealthy diets, excessive alcohol consumption, tobacco use, khat use, lack of physical exercise are among the leading factors that expose people to incurable NCDs. And unhealthy diets include excessive salt and sugar consumption, palm oil with trans-fat and saturated fat, industrially processed foods, sugary beverages and fast foods, among others are the major food items that exacerbate the problems of NCDs.
Moreover, the rapid growth of urbanization and change in lifestyle leads to high consumption of industrially processed foods and fast foods that remain a challenge to counter NCDs. WHO also recommended countries adherence to its policy recommendations that limit unhealthy diets consumption among the society, providing mandatory warning signs on industrially processed foods about their impact on health, controlling industrially processed foods advertisements on the media, deducting higher taxation on them.
Accordingly, the presence of warning signs on the packages of industrially processed foods with high salt, sweet, and fat in Chile, Brazil, and Mexico enables the society to limit their industrially processed foods consumption. “Our country is losing its productive manpower due to limitations in awareness creation on NCDs’ health and socio-economic impacts. The mainstream and social media journalists could play a significant role to fill this gap and encourage the society to maintain its healthiness through properly implementing the WHO and health professionals recommendations about NCDs,” he noted.
Presenting a paper on Unhealthy Diets, Consumption and Recommendations for Ethiopia, Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) Food Science and Nutrition Researcher Kifle Habte said that WHO recommends that the trans-fatty acid consumption per person should be limited to less than 1 percent per day.
The daily salt consumption of a person should be limited to below 25-50 gram per day. High oily foods, sweets, soft drinks, juices, among other consumption for more than three up to four days in a week exposes people to numerous complicated health problems, he said.
In sum, the socio-economic impact of NCDs is increasing from time to time following the weak measures being undertaken by the government and peoples to ease its burdens. Poverty is closely linked with NCDs. The rapid rise in NCDs is predicted to impede poverty reduction initiatives in low-income countries, particularly by increasing household costs associated with health care.
Vulnerable and socially disadvantaged people get sicker and die sooner than people of higher social positions, especially, because they are at greater risk of being exposed to harmful products, such as tobacco, or unhealthy dietary practices, and have limited access to health services. In low-resource settings, health care costs for NCDs quickly drain household resources. The exorbitant costs of NCDs, including treatment, which are often lengthy and expensive, combined with loss of income, force millions of people into poverty and register stifle development annually.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 4 MAY 2023
