Diabetes, hypertension cases up in Dormaa

Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A) July 26, GNA - Nutrition-related diseases, particularly diabetes and hypertension, are assuming abnormal proportions in the Dormaa Municipality.

Mr. Charles Kwakye Siaw, Municipal Nutrition Officer, who told the Ghana News Agency, at Dormaa-Ahenkro, said the trend was in spite of sustained radio and regenerative strategies to discourage practices associated with the acquisition of the diseases.

He said diabetes diagnosis in the municipality jumped from 89 in 2008 to 562 in 2009, while hypertension jumped from 2,226 to 3,230 within the same period.

The nutrition officer attributed the situation to bad eating habits and absence of exercises, particularly, among adults.

Mr. Kwakye noted that the type of food usually considered by Ghanaians as good food and often consumed regularly and in large quantities was rather "unleashing havoc on their lives".

"What most people consider in Ghana as poor food fit only for the poor in society is sometimes the nutritious diet that may have the potential to hedge them against contracting such diseases," the nutrition officer added.

Mr. Kwakye called on schools, parents and cooked food sellers in the municipality, to as a matter of urgency, reduce the fat and oil component of foods before consumption.

This way, he stressed, our health status would not only be enhanced but we would also be eating more of the food we grow locally.

Mr. Kwakye announced that the nutrition department of the Municipal Health Directorate was in consultation with the municipal assembly and the two local radio stations in Dormaa to mobilize workers and keep fit clubs to embark on monthly health walks to enhance good health.