Companies cooking fast foods like chips, fried chicken, sausages and foods with bad cholesterol are on the rise, and so are the orders.
A recent research shows that 70 percent of women classified as upper-middle-class consume sausages, chicken with skin and deep-fried chicken daily, with the majority using butter or margarine spreads every day.
As a result, this has seen obesity levels shoot to 27 percent among women in reproductive health, mostly in Nairobi.
The study by Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Kenyatta University and Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada shows that women employed for office work were four times more likely to have elevated cholesterol.
“Women who bought food from supermarkets or fast food outlets were twice more likely to have elevated triglyceride,” says the new study.
High triglyceride results in hardening of blood arteries, increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart disease.
According to the Kenya Food Index Report 2020, office and home food deliveries in Nairobi grew by 25 percent, with most orders comprising of fast foods that pose a health risk.
Chicken was the most ordered food, particularly in Nairobi since April, followed by burgers, pizza, roast meat and bhajia.
Chicken and pizza are the most popular food delivery in the past three years, according to Jumia Food Index report of 2019.
“The high consumption of red meat and other dense energy foods is a growing health concern among women of reproductive age in Nairobi,” says a team of medical researchers as quoted by The Standard.
It is estimated that 50 percent of women in Nairobi have a weight problem, with most developing blood vessels problem due to the accumulation of bad cholesterol.
An estimated 100,000 Kenyans die annually due to cardiovascular diseases, according to the Ministry of Health.
Karen Hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital and St Mary’s Mission Hospital in Lang’ata have reported a spike in cases of heart diseases among women who visit the facilities.
In the wake of Covid-19, people with underlying conditions such as obesity and hypertension are at a greater risk of succumbing in case they contract the virus.
“Overweight, obesity and hypertension are a major cause of fatalities and severe Covid-19 and we need to change our eating habits,” says Dr Mercy Mwangangi, the Cabinet Administrative Secretary for Health.
Source: KahawaTungu