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The President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Wasiu Afolabi, has recommended that Nigerians cut back on sugar consumption to prevent non-communicable diseases.
Prof. Afolabi, a Community Nutrition expert at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, highlighted the dangers of excessive sugar intake, linking it to cardiovascular diseases.
He emphasized that reducing sugar intake can lower the likelihood of developing serious ailments. Prof. Afolabi also noted that high sugar and salt consumption significantly contribute to conditions like high blood pressure.
Additionally, Wakadaily learnt that, he warned that individuals with high sugar intake face risks such as inflammation, cancer, diabetes, and fatty liver disease.
The expert advised Nigerians to limit their consumption of sugary drinks, including fizzy drinks, soda, energy drinks, flavored milk, and sweetened juices, which contain added sugars that can be harmful to their health.
He stated, “If excessive sugar is consumed, it could also affect blood pressure in the body.
“Also, we also know that sugar when consumed in excess is converted into a storage form. You know sugar itself is a carbohydrate, if it is in excess, it converts the storage form into glycogen, and some of it can be converted into fat and so increase the weight of an individual.
“We also know when weight increases, it can cause obesity which is also a risk factor for diabetes mellitus.”
The World Health Organization warns that excessive sugar consumption has harmful health effects, including weight gain, increased risk of diseases, high blood pressure, heart disease, and tooth decay.
The organization notes that added sugars, even in foods like fruit juices, can displace essential nutrients in the diet, providing empty calories.
Additionally, excessive sugar intake can lead to fatty liver disease, where fat accumulates in the liver, according to the nutritionist. Moderation is key, even with seemingly healthy options like fruit juices, to avoid these negative health consequences.
“Also, when sugar is consumed excessively, it provides an avenue for inflammation which can reduce the immunity of the body and make it susceptible to infection as well as other communicable diseases like cancer.
“When you look at most developed countries of the world where they consume foods that are very high in sugar and salt, diseases like cancer, diabetes, and obesity used to be known as diseases of wealthy countries.
“But unfortunately, it crossed into our system now because of changes in our dietary habits whereby people are consuming sugar-sweetened beverages and different kinds of foods that are high in sugar, salt, and calories”, he mentioned.
Afolabi urges Nigerians to reduce their sugar intake and adopt a healthy lifestyle through balanced eating.
Research published in the Pubmed Central Journal in 2022 highlights the link between high sugar consumption and an increased risk of non-communicable diseases, including obesity, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes, emphasizing the importance of a healthy diet in preventing these conditions.
The authors noted, “The consumption of high-sugar beverages and processed foods has increased significantly over the past 30 years.
“We concluded that revealing the roles that excessive intake of hexose has on the regulation of human inflammatory diseases are fundamental questions that need to be solved urgently.”
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