William is a mammoth of a child at 46Kgs. He is 10 years old and is only a few inches shy of 5.5ft.
The first time our paths crossed was at a clinic. He was attending a treatment session with an obesity specialist while I was waiting for an interview with his doctor – an on obesity.
We struck a conversation. Almost instantly, it was difficult to miss the fact that William, for a child his age, has a top-of-the-chart IQ. He is articulate and nimble.
'Confident' can't adequately explain his ability to claw into a conversation. His diction is impeccable and he has a desirable wit.
The only thing going wrong for him – from his doctor's standpoint – is his weight.
Later, I learn, William attends an international school. He was born into a rich family. Money wouldn't be a problem among his gentry. His term fees could easily serve pay checks for several middle class workers.
Yet, it could be argued, that the same wealth has contributed in William's obesity. Looking at William's current struggle with obesity aptly puts into perspective findings of a report released last week: that nearly half of Kenyan children aged between 5 and 17 do not meet World Health Organisation's physical activity levels and will therefore drive obesity numbers up among this age group.
The Report Card on physical activity for children and youth 2016 was released at Kenyatta University and was published last month in international journal of behavioural nutrition and physical activity.
The report's conclusion bleeped with danger; indicating that educated parents, in spite of their mental acumen, do not encourage physical activities.
Children of mothers with a diploma, higher diploma or degree, compared with primary school or less, are 75 per cent less likely to meet recommended physical activity guidelines, the report said.
The irony couldn't be greater.
"The problem of childhood obesity is partly because livelihood in Kenya has improved: junk food is readily available today than at any other time.
The greatest shift however has been in lifestyle," Dr Lyudmilla Shchukina, an obesity specialist at Holistic Living in Nairobi's Upper Hill says.
Having practiced in Kenya for the past two decades, the medic has witnessed the fluidity of the Kenyan style of living. She is one among very few obesity specialists in Kenya and the wider East Africa.
William too is her patient.
Among Dr Shchukina's success stories is Abdala Faizal, a Nairobi-based businessman. In 2014, Abdala's life was in danger due to obesity. He weighed 160Kg, nearly double his ideal weight of 85Kg.
Abdala's obesity is not an affliction of the recent past but rather a lifelong struggle.
"I have been big since I was a child," he says, "as far as I can remember my existence."
Abdala admits that as a young boy he ate a lot.
However, the amount of food he gorged on was not commensurate to the amount of physical activity he engaged in. "I relaxed a lot," he says.
This extra weight brought with it a host of ailments that made life everything but enjoyable for Abdala. He says: "I suffered high blood pressure, lethargy, leg pain, backbone pain, sleep apnea, and many more."
This state of quasi-wellness made life hell on earth, he says. Previously he had tried the gym – shedding off the weight through regular exercises.
"It didn't work. I would lose about four kilos then gain five. I was losing money paying for gym sessions and gave up altogether."
Then his health took a dive downwards. For the first time, he says, he feared for his life. Through a recommendation, Abdala visited Dr Shchukina at her clinic.
"He wanted me to perform weight loss surgery on him. I however proposed to start with lifestyle coaching. In case of resistance to weight loss we will do bariatric surgery," Dr Shchukina observes.
Being big, Abdala says, was the norm in his family. At least 90 per cent of the family – from his parents to his siblings – exhibited signs of obesity. With a huge food surplus therefore, growing overweight was a seamless process.
After his near-death experience with obesity, Abdala wishes to shield his children from following a similar trajectory. The eldest in his household was already showing signs of obesity when his father asked that he be put on a diet to curtail his growing weight.
Prof Vincent Onywera of Kenyatta University, the lead authour of the report on children's physical activity, told Standard that Kenya could be facing an epidemic of obesity among children and youth if status quo holds.
Within one and a half years months of weight loss therapy and lifestyle coaching sessions at Holistic Living, Abdala lost weight: from 160Kg to his current 100Kg.
According to Shchukina, if Abdala maintains his weight loss and does not gain back the lost weight for 3-5 years, he would be considered to have permanently dealt with the obesity.
Obesity, notes Dr Shchukina, is likely to affect children if parents themselves are obese.
She says: "Obesity itself is a sign that one is eating too much unwarranted food. Food addiction is as strong as drug addiction. Children learn such lifestyle from their parents."
William's mother, brother and grandmother are obese too.
His grandmother suffers from diabetes as well.
His sessions with the specialist involve lifestyle coaching developed through psychology: training his mind to think of food differently.
"When William was brought to me by his grandmother she asked me to do a gastric balloon on him – because the boy is busy with school and won't afford time for lifestyle sessions which I had recommended.
Obesity patients can't lose weight without mindset change: they will always gain back the weight. It would be a waste of time because my aim is for my patients to really get well: not just for a moment then relapse," Dr Shchukina says.
Now, William has lost 4Kg.
"It feels good weighing less. Initially I couldn't walk halfway around the school field but now I can do a full circle," he says, with a smile that says it all: he loves shedding the fat gripping all over his body.
As expected, William does not fancy physical activity. His favorite pastime is reading; or better yet watching an entertaining movie with a bowl of potato crisps.
Childhood obesity, opines Kepha Nyanumba, a consultant nutritionist with AAR, occurs when children develop a penchant for tasty fatty and sugary foods, "with disregard of vegetables and organic whole grains, tubers and fruits."
He further explains: "Such a diet, which is far from the ideal balanced diet, coupled with less or no physical activity, makes for a fat young person."
Kepha blames the growing childhood obesity numbers in urban areas on couch potato lifestyle – watching TV, playing computer games and surfing the Internet.
WHO recommends that 5 to 13-year-olds sleep for at between nine to eleven hours, be involved in physical activity for at least 1 hour and not exceed 2 hours of TV within 24 hours to avoid obesity. Dr Shchukina also insists that this should be intertwined with control of food addiction.
And now, with the festive season swooshing in, and the mood conforming into the festivities, Dr Shchukina believes it is yet another time for children, vis-a-vis adults, to be 'fatter'. The happy mood amidst plenty is just the right recipe.
