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As this 24-hour eating extravaganza descends onto our major cities, profits continue to soar with each expanding waistline.DP William Ruto and Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka take tea and chapati in a kiosk at Shianda market, Kakamega county, Sunday, November 4, 2018. /DPPS Pic: Photo Courtesy
How roadside chapatis are slowly killing Kenyans
The demonization of fat birthed a low-fat campaign, that led to the expansion of refined grains and sugar. Natural fat was substituted for industrially manufactured fats and oils.
•As our food environment changed, so did our waistlines. We have never been fatter, or sicker.
In 2010, humanity passed an important milestone. Obesity became a bigger public health problem than hunger. One hungry child is still one too many. Eradicating hunger remains a priority. But the rising rates of obesity and diabetes can no longer be ignored.
A recent review by the Ministry of Health in Kenya has acknowledged the dramatic increase in obesity, particularly among Kenyan women and children.
According to the review, latest data from all over the country showed alarming rates of outpatient cases with high blood pressure and diabetes, related to obesity.
The Ministry says diseases such as cancers, heart disease and type 2 diabetes represent up to 70 per cent of all hospital admissions and up to half of all inpatient deaths.