A Professor of Pediatrics at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University, USA, Dr. Benjamin Udoka Nwosu, has advised Nigerians against excessive food consumption in the name of enjoyment, warning that such habits may damage vital organs. The award-winning medical researcher made this known during an interview with Rudolf Okonkwo on 90MinutesAfrica, highlighting milestones in his research on pediatric diabetes.
Dr. Nwosu warned that eating meals that should be for multiple individuals may predispose an individual to debilitating health challenges. “When an individual eats a large meal normally meant for multiple people, the body organs are overworked,” the Chief of Endocrinology at the Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York said. “The liver will go into an overdrive trying to detoxify the high amount of toxins present, the kidneys will work harder to excrete the waste products, and the pancreas will have to secrete enormous amounts of insulin to prevent hyperglycemia.”
He explained that this could lead to insulin resistance because, over time, the pancreas may give up. “The pancreas can no longer even make the biologically required insulin products. And once that happens, things just go haywire from there,” he said.
Professor Nwosu highlighted the challenges in developing a definitive cure for diabetes. He explained that the challenge faced by diabetes researchers is that, unlike many other diseases, diabetes is a polygenic condition that involves the interaction of multiple genes. He said it is important for individuals to adhere to established protocols, such as maintaining a healthy body mass index and avoiding being overweight, to prevent activation of dormant genes that may result in diabetes.
The co-editor of the recently published Springer book, “Pediatric Diabetes,” also called on the Nigerian government to establish a national framework to raise awareness of the disease and provide minimal care for those already suffering from it.
“There has to be a template for managing diabetes in Nigeria,” Prof. Nwosu said. “There should be a minimum benchmark which includes checking the blood sugar level of anybody who presents themselves in any hospital in the country, and anyone with high blood sugar must be placed on some minimum form of care.”
He said if the government can set up this minimum benchmark and build on it, it will attract funding into the sector. He also called on the government to go further and incentivize local insulin production through tax rebates and other subsidies for producers. He emphasized that to achieve this, the government must have a well-coordinated national programme that should be monitored and benchmarked.
