Africa-Press – Tanzania. SEDENTARY lifestyles and unhealthy eating among Arusha residents have seen the region recording the highest number of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) cases and deaths recently.
The region posted a 39.74 per cent, making it the third place with the most NCDs cases in the country.
“This is a worrying trend for Arusha residents which needs to be reversed immediately,” opined Dr Omary Ubuguyu, the National NCD Prevention and Control Program Manager, during a Media Seminar held here recently.
The Health expert wondered why a place like Arusha was badly managing NCDs, while it boasts of an ideal climate for physical exercises.
Dodoma, the country capital recorded 46.27 per cent of NCD related deaths, followed by Geita with 39.94 per cent.
“Sedentary lifestyles increase all causes of mortality, double the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity, and increase the risks of colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression and anxiety,” he warned.
According to Dr Ubuguyu, Tanzania recorded 4.7million cases of NCD in 2020.
“Such figures are so alarming and calls for urgent action like body workouts and change of lifestyle,” observed the health expert.
The Seminar for Media Practitioners was part of the Global Week for Action on NCDs which among other things, seeks to ensure NCD prevention and care get the attention and action they deserve.
The week, which is nationally marked in Arusha, climaxes on November 12.
It will, however, be preceded by an NCD Scientific workshop today presided over by Education, Science and Technology minister Joyce Ndalichako.
Earlier, the Information, Culture, Arts and Sports Deputy Minister Pauline Gekul challenged the Arusha regional commissioner to allocate a day for physical exercises.
This is in a bid to fend off Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), according to the Deputy Minister.
“You could start by making it a routine, that every day there is allocated time for body workouts,” suggested Ms Gekul.
According to the Deputy Minister, employers from both, the public and private sector spend long hours glued on their seats, making them inactive and at high risk of getting NCDs.
“The only remedy to this is to body workouts every month,” she observed.
Such an observation comes after Arusha was placed among the regions with the highest NCDs.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), physical inactivity can have serious implications for people’s health.
The global health agency says approximately 2 million deaths per year are attributed to physical inactivity.
It has occasionally warned that sedentary lifestyles could be among the 10 leading causes of death and disability in the world.
WHO says such diseases tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors.
According to the NCD Disease Strategy, burden of NCD is increasing due to what has been termed the nutritional transition, with large consumption of highly refined and processed foods, foods rich in saturated fats, sugar and salt and increasing sedentary lifestyle.
Such a transition is driven by issues such as trade, foreign investments and urbanization.
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