LAGOS – A general physician, Dr Abiola Ajala, on Tuesday in Lagos appealed to Nigerians to make healthy lifestyle choices and go for regular medical checks to reduce risk of chronic diseases.
Ajala, of Optimal Children Clinic, Surulere, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that healthy living could prevent diseases identified as lifestyle diseases.
“Nigerians should take their health more seriously through healthy lifestyle choices to prevent lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, hypertension, liver disease, stroke and osteoporosis.
“They are called lifestyle diseases because they result from choices people make in their lives,’’ she explained.
According to her, these diseases lead the charts of preventable deaths in the country. [eap_ad_2] Ajala said that the diseases were increasingly common in the society because of people’s attitude toward unhealthy foods, sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy habits such as smoking and alcoholism.
“For instance smoking is a major cause of lung cancer which puts you at risk for a heart disease.
“These diseases are preventable if people will eat healthy food, exercise regularly, limit alcohol intake, reduce stress and do regular health checks.
“Making these healthy choices will not only reduce your risk of having a chronic disease but will also improve your overall quality of life,’’ she said.
Ajala said further that many Nigerians were ignorant of their health status and did not go for regular medical checks.
She advised people to undergo regular medical screening to enable them to know their health status to facilitate early intervention, should anything be detected, thereby preventing untimely death.
“Regular medical screening helps to monitor your blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar level and also ensures early detection of a disease.
“In many cases, the earlier a problem is detected, it increases the chances of better treatment outcome,’’ she said. (NAN) [eap_ad_3]