Healthy and balanced diet: key to good health

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Extract from the article: A balanced diet ensures good health and prevents disease. It is a matter of favouring 80% of foods of plant origin and 15% of animal origin. The consumption of processed foods such as hamburgers, scharwama and pizzas should be significantly limited o

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A balanced diet ensures good health and prevents disease. It is a matter of favouring 80% of foods of plant origin and 15% of animal origin. The consumption of processed foods such as hamburgers, scharwama and pizzas should be significantly limited or avoided.

To function properly, the body needs all the nutrients from food, namely proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.

Beware of junk food

Many Togolese are now eating more processed, high-calorie, high-fat, high-free-sugar or high-salt foods, and many are not eating enough fruit, vegetables and dietary fibre. « In Togo, eating fruit regularly is not always part of our daily routine. The consumption of fruit is essential for the intake of vitamins and therefore for better health. We are advised to consume at least five fruits and vegetables a day and if you count them, Togolese do not consume enough fruit. Young people prefer to eat sweets, hamburgers, scharwama, pizzas and sausages throughout the week. In reality, these kinds of foods, what do they do for the body? Nothing »,  says John, 32, a carpenter in the Adidogome district.

A recent national survey has shown an increase in the rate of overweight and obesity among students and schools in Togo. According to the survey data collected at the level of infirmaries in the two public universities of Togo, 8% of registered students are reported to be obese and 12% overweight out of a total of 50,000.

According to Professor Mofou Belo, Head of the Non-Communicable Diseases Surveillance Division at the Ministry of Health, in 2010 a national survey on non-communicable diseases showed that 6 to 10% of the Togolese population was obese and 20 to 30% had high blood pressure. In 2021, the survey was repeated with a clear increase in the data. « Before that, we observed in the Togolese population, especially among young children, an increase in the rate of obesity in schools. This led us to go to the University of Lomé and the University of Kara », shared Pr Mofou Belo, on 30 July 2022 during a conference-debate on the proliferation of fast food in Greater Lomé.

Favouring balanced and healthy foods

The benefits of fruits, vegetables and legumes are very important because they are full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber and help maintain a healthy weight. Opt for avocado, mango, orange, papaya, carrot, cabbage, lettuce, gboma, adémè, cucumber, beetroot, tomato, aubergine, voandzou, bean, cashew nut, soya, peanut, date, pea, pigeon pea. Also prefer soy milk, low-sodium cheese, fish, eggs, white meat and poultry.

Joseph GANGUI