Expert warns Nigerians against consuming unhealthy fatty foods
A medical expert, Dr. David Okorafor, has called on Nigerians to avoid unhealthy fatty foods and lifestyles that could lead to Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis.
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He made the call yesterday, during a webinar/Media Dialogue organised by an NGO, Lafia Wealth Initiative, to commemorate the 2021 International Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Day.
The day is marked every June 10 globally to raise visibility and urgency around fatty liver disease and its more advanced form which is NASH.
Okorafor, who described steatohepatitis as a type of fatty liver disease, characterised by inflammation of the liver with concurrent fat accumulation, said records had shown that 20 percent of the world population have NASH.
“steatohepatitis is a silent killer disease because it has no major symptoms in the early stages,” he said.
“Obesity is one of the major causes of fatty liver, so there is need for people to cut down on calorie intake and know the appropriatea healthy fat for the body.
“We cannot do away with fat because the body needs it, but animal fat should be avoided to prevent fatty liver disease.
“Exercise is also a good avenue to reduce or prevent obesity that may progress to fatty liver disease.
“Diabetes is also a leading cause of fatty liver disease.
“NASH disease is preventable, but the moment it progresses further to Cirrhosis (last stage of scarring of the liver), nothing can be done to reverse it.”
He added that “statistics show that 20 percent of the world population have NASH, but we don’t know the prevalence in the country because there is no information on it.
“Having such data or statistics will go a long way to help in implementing measures to tackle it.”
MTO/Punch
