Christopher Jator Njechu
25 April 2008
A research on health and human well-being for 2007 has revealed that nutrition neglect accounts for the recent upsurge in death toll in Cameroon.
According to scientists of the International Council for Science, ICSU, that did the research, at least 50 percent of the population in Sub-Sahara Africa suffer and die from diet-related diseases, with a high impact in Cameroon.
The study states that nutrition neglect can result not only in anaemia, goitre and blindness, sometimes called 'diseases of poverty' but death in chronic cases. About 60 percent of deaths around the world and 47 percent of the burden of disease are attributed to diet-related diseases.
About two-thirds of deaths occur in areas where the key risk factors are poor diet, physical inactivity, and obesity. Like malnutrition, diet-related chronic diseases have their origin in early childhood.
While the study states that nutrition is becoming one of the major determinants of chronic diseases, it carries scientific evidence supporting the view that alterations in the diet have powerful effects on health.
The report recommends the importance to educate the population to understand that food should be eaten for its essential nutrients. Infant mortality rates are higher in Africa than anywhere else in the world mainly due to improper care and feeding practices, poor living conditions, and the absence of adequate quality food supplies for both mothers and children.
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