By Andrew Mkonda
Lilongwe District Council Principal Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Officer, Edna Nakanga Mwangonde has said over nutrition is one of the contributing factors that is causing several diseases among the people across the country.
Mwangonde was speaking on Friday in Lilongwe during a Nutrition & Wellness Day her office organized for staff members of the Lilongwe District Council with an aim of promoting overall health, wellbeing and self-esteem.
“We are determined to fight issues of malnutrition more especially among the under five children and lactating mothers, but recently cases of over nutrition have risen among many people in the country resulting to several illnesses,” Mwangonde said.
She said over nutrition is one of the contributing factors of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, hypertension and diabetes which have become common these days.
Mwangonde, therefore, advised people to engage in physical exercises, screening of certain diseases such as Blood Pressure (BP) and avoid junky foods.
One of the participants, Gladys Kalumbi thanked the office of Nutrition and HIV/AIDS for the initiative, describing it as an eye opener to many people since they didn’t know that over nutrition can be dangerous to mankind.
“We are so thankful for this initiative since it will go a long way in reminding the people of the importance of regular screening and physical exercise,” she said.
Kalumbi, therefore, asked the council through the Nutrition and HIV/AIDS office and other partners to conduct such activities regularly, saying many people working in different offices do not have time to access such services.
Apart from the aerobics, people who attended the session were able to screen TB, BP and know whether they are overweight or not.
