‘Sedentary lifestyle, late night eating lead to obesity’

Mrs Sarah Abagai, Head of Department, Dietetics, National Hospital, Abuja, has warned Nigerians against sedentary living and eating snacks late at night to avoid becoming obese.
Abagai said on Wednesday in Abuja that lack of exercise and poor nutrition was detrimental to the body, hence the need for healthy and timely nutrition.
She said sedentary living was a type of lifestyle with irregular or no form of physical activity which could lead to weight gain and elevated blood cholesterol.
Abagai said such a lifestyle was associated with regular intake of foods like fried chips, eggs, ice cream and snacks like burgers, popcorn and chocolate, among others, with no form of physical exercise.
According to her, late night eating of snacks could cause an individual to gain more weight and become obese as well as predispose them to heart related diseases early in life.
“Most people eat snacks while watching TV or playing games on their phones, so they end up associating these habits with eating snacks while accumulating excess calories in their bodies.
“Also studies have shown that children spend up to 24 hours a week in front of the TV consuming snacks.
“The more calories one consumes the more the demand for physical activities to burn down the calories,’’ Abagai said.
She said an individual’s willpower was usually very low when tired; adding that being hungry at night put one at a disadvantage to eat whatever was available.
Abagai said there was need to identify habits or activity that caused one to indulge in such lifestyles and swap with a better habit like brushing the teeth or eating light meals and fruits at night.
“Those who often ate past 11 p.m. gain more weight than those who do not and it is easier to achieve an ideal weight once late night snacking is stopped with regular exercise.
“People need to understand that the time they eat may not necessarily affect the body weight, it is what they eat and the number of calories consumed that matters.
“Stopping late night snacking can be as simple as keeping snacks out of the house. If you usually crave chocolate at night, keep it out of the house,’’ she advised.
Abagai recommended for a set of activities to engage in after dinner such as brushing the teeth serves as a reminder not to eat again.
“Brushing your teeth is always a good strategy because it leaves a minty taste in your mouth, which may discourage you from eating sweet things.
“Also one could make a list of the unhealthy foods they crave for and replace them with healthier alternatives,’’ she added.