Nutrition Society holds annual meeting, urges FG to promote healthy lifestyle

The Federal Government has been urged to create a budget line for the promotion of good nutrition and healthy lifestyle among Nigerians.

President of Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), Bartholomew Brai who made the call at a press conference to herald the 47th Scientific and Annual General meeting of the society in

Ibadan noted that the call became necessary so as to complement the efforts of the organisation in promoting good nutrition in Nigeria.

He said “The nutrition situation in Nigeria today calls for concern. The current statistics show that both infant and under-five mortality rate are high. The level of malnutrition is also with 43 percent of the children stunted, 11 percent wasted and 31 percent underweight while about 2 percent are overweight.

“That is why we are saying that what the government can do is that there is a need for budget

line for nutrition so that we will be positioned to do this campaign.

Brai therefore urged all and sundry to invest in nutrition saying the investment will be made effective if nutrition information leads to change in attitude and behaviour of the people towards healthy eating and lifestyle.

“The investment made in nutrition will be most effective if nutrition information leads to change in attitude and behaviour of the populace towards healthy eating and lifestyle.

Eating a balanced diet is vital for good health and wellbeing. Food provides our bodies with the energy, protein, essential fats, vitamins and minerals to live, grow and function properly. We need a wide variety of different foods to provide the right amounts of nutrients for good health.

For Craig Nossel, head of Wellness at Discovery Vitality, “The trick to making your lifestyle healthier is to make small healthy changes every day, such as taking the stairs instead of the lifts, increasing your fruit by one, drinking one extra glass of water or quitting smoking.”

Akinremi Feyisipo, Ibadan