Half of Kenya’s women obese, medics warn

By Roselyne Obala

 About  half of Kenya’s women are obese, according to latest studies.

Sikolia Wanyonyi, an obstetrician/gynaecologist at Aga Khan University Hospital, says current data indicates that about 44 per cent of Kenya’s women are obese.

Wanyonyi attributes this situation to a rising trend by Kenyan women to snack on fatty bittings instead of sticking to traditional foods.

“It is also highly prevalent in high income groups,” Wanyonyi explains.

An earlier study by International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) had revealed that 12 per cent of Kenyans are overweight.

The IASO study noted that 7.2 per cent of women in the country were obese.

But recent research found that a cross-section of Luos, Kambas and Maasai in rural and urban areas have an increased Body Mass Index.

 “About 39.8 per cent are overweight and 15.5 per cent are obese. Those affected were mainly in the urban areas, not the rural,” Wanyonyi explains.

He  notes that obesity is prevalent in the urban areas as compared to the rural settings.

According to Wanyonyi  western lifestyles and low social class are major contributing factors to obesity.

He further explains that obesity has risen due to pregnancy complications, menstrual irregularities and increased surgical risks.

“They tend to have problems during labour with longer active phases and high rate of induction. The caesarean delivery is characterised with blood loss, long operative time and infections,” he explained.

Complications

 Wanyonyi warns that gaining weight during pregnancy is risky for both mother and child.

Studies have shown that women who gain weight during pregnancies are at risk of developing complications during delivery.

“There are high chances of still births during next pregnancy and high blood pressure,” he cautions.

Women who were interviewed said they often find themselves eating junk food because they are cheap and readily available.

“Sometimes chips is the only food I find affordable for lunch,” says Florence Nanjala.

Furthermore, she says fast food joints are found at every corner of the town as opposed to restaurants where she can find traditional food.

 “I cannot walk long distances to look for proper food. I just dash into the nearest fast food outlet to save on time and money,” she adds.

Jael Nakhumicha, who lives in Kakamega, laments that eating lunch at fast food joints is the in thing.

“Why go to a hotel to eat ugali and vegetables for lunch?” she asks.

In the past, Kenyan men defined a healthy woman as one who was big bodied.

But Ruth Oniango, a nutritionist, notes that adding weight does not necessarily mean having a big body.

Dangers

“One can have excess fat as a result of too much intake of fatty foods,” she says

Prof Oniango, a lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology, alludes to the fact that obesity in Kenya’s women has become a source of concern.

“In the past, people never used to cook with oil. Oil was mainly used in preparing meat and it was extracted from milk,” she explains.

However, she says women especially those in mid-age and menopause are becoming obese because of consuming more fried foods.

Too much salt

“Everything we cook must be fried and we do not know the dangers this poses to our health. Most of the time we never measure the fat. We think the food will be tastier,” Prof Oniango explains.

 “In the past, we only took only sugar while chewing sugar cane, which was nutritious,” she explained.

She further warns against taking too much salt, pointing out that it can cause high blood pressure, heart problems, cancer and diabetes.

Prof Oniango says people suffering from obesity realise it when they start outgrowing their clothes.

She says most will feel they have grown bigger and struggling to catch their breath when climbing stairs.

At other times their family and friends may shy away from talking about their weight fearing that by doing so, they will hurt their feelings.

The medic urges people to avoid junk food and to prepare their meals at home.