The University of Ibadan, through the University Health Service, commemorated World Obesity Day 2024, using the occasion to disseminate the findings of a study on, “Temporal Trends in Overweight, Obesity, and Chronic Disease Risks among Adolescents and Young Adults: A ten-year review of pre-admission and medical records of undergraduate and postgraduate students in UI.”.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Administration, Professor Peter Olamakinde Olapegba, who represented the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode O. Adebowale, mni, FAS, called on all stakeholders to examine the cultural traits predisposing us to obesity. He charged all to take personal responsibility for their health and called for necessary changes in lifestyles to tackle the challenges of obesity.
Professor Olapegba reiterated the commitment of university management to workplace wellness.
He said the university would adopt obesity as an institutional issue and put up the right policy framework aimed at the sustenance of a healthy university community.
Professor Olapegba reminded the stakeholders about the recent move by the university through the UHS to regulate food vendors on campus to ensure healthy feeding.
He stated that any food vendor on campus that does not display a certificate of fitness from the UHS is operating illegally and should be reported.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor thereafter launched the Campus Obesity Network as a high-level mandate to coordinate collective action on preventing and controlling obesity and associated chronic or non-communicable disease risks at the University of Ibadan.
Earlier, the Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, had encouraged the investigators to think more about involving the adolescents from primary and secondary schools and work more on disseminating the relevant information.
She stressed that prevention is usually better than cure and urged everyone to live a healthy life by constantly checking their blood pressure and blood sugar and maintaining a healthy weight.
Dr Ajetunmobi recommended an acronym “WASHED” to sensitise the public on obesity: W- Weight Reduction; A- Alcohol Reduction; S- Smoking cessation/Salt Reduction; H- Health Promotion; E- Exercise, and D- Diet control.
She gave the assurance that her ministry was ready to collaborate with the University of Ibadan to fight the menace of obesity.
The Director of the University Health Service (UHS), Dr. Aderonke Ajav, charged all members of the university community to be intentional in their efforts to live healthy lives.
The Director of the African Research Universities Alliance Centre of Excellence for Non-Communicable Diseases, Professor M.O. Owolabi, stated in a goodwill message that obesity and hypertension have become epidemics driven by our lifestyles.
He said many deaths that occur from obesity and hypertension are preventable or controllable by water, diet, and exercise.
He, therefore, urged people to be more active and to live healthy lives.
Other highlights of the occasion included a tea testimonial of a personal experience and; a presentation of results and recommendations by the Principal Investigator, Dr. Abayomi Oluwasanu.
The commemoration also allowed the audience to ask questions, comment, and give feedback.
