Health
Fight non-communicable diseases with healthy diets, nutritionists tell Nigerians
Excluding emergency cases, nutrition experts have urged other clinicians to ensure people living with non-communicable diseases consult dietitians as part of their treatment before being placed on medications.
The nutrition experts noted that conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disorders are closely linked to dietary habits, adding that appropriate dietary management can help control some conditions and improve treatment outcomes.
The experts made the call during the two-day professional retreat of the Lagos State Health Service Commission Dietitian-Nutritionists, themed ‘Institutionalising Excellence in Dietetics and Nutrition Services: Strengthening Systems, Standards and Sustainability in Lagos State Health Service Commission’.
They noted that personalised nutrition counselling can help patients identify harmful eating patterns, make appropriate dietary changes and, in some cases, reduce the need for medications under medical supervision.
Speaking at the event, a Professor of Health Promotion and Education at the Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Oyediran Oyewole, urged healthcare providers to integrate dietitians into the management of patients with NCDs rather than relying solely on medications.
He stressed that a multidisciplinary approach is essential to achieving better health outcomes and reducing the growing burden of NCDs in Nigeria.
Oyewole, who is also a trained dietician, noted that it was important that the concept of “behavioural change before drugs” be adopted in health facilities across the country.
He lamented that after medical examination, many patients are placed on drug treatment without recourse to dietary changes.
“What I am preaching now is, before we start putting any patient on any drug, can we ask about their behaviours? Ask them what they do, what they eat, and their lifestyle. By the time we ask them questions, we will see the areas where they need to change their behaviour.
“In other words, unless it is an emergency, when a patient comes with the laboratory results and they see the doctor, before the doctor starts prescribing drugs, it should be after the dietician has worked with them on changing their behaviour, and there is no real change. Then you can now prescribe drugs for the patient, and they should know that this drug they are entering is like joining a club that they may never come out of,” he said.
According to him, we can actually prevent them (patients) from joining the drug-dependent club.
“Most times, the side effects of these drugs are never told. Some of these drugs have the potential to destroy some of the essential body nutrients, leading to iatrogenic disease conditions (the one-for-two syndrome)•
“However, the solution to the problem from medical check results may just require behaviour changes, mainly in our diets and water intake. The information that will assist in the behaviour change resides with the nutritionist-dietician professionals, who, unfortunately, are usually regarded as just “supporting staff” in patients’ care,” he said.
The professor of health promotion and education lamented that despite the role of dietitians, they are poorly considered in patients’ management.
“Only a very few disease conditions will not require nutrition and dietetics intervention either as part of prevention, treatment, or management/maintenance.
“However, as important as nutrition and dietetics is, poor consideration has always been given to the course of the profession in patients’management in many of our health care facilities,” Oyewole said.
According to him, exclusion of nutritionists from being part of the stakeholders’ meetings where concrete health management decisions are taken should be reconsidered for proper integration into the mainstream of the health workforce.
“Unfortunately, the patients always bear the brunt, sometimes paying the ultimate price of untimely death when there is a lack of cooperation among health care providers. It is high time to address this issue of sidelining one of the most important groups in health care services,” he said.
Also speaking, the HSC Director, Career Management, Ojo Rebbeca Olufunke, called for integration of dietetics into multidisciplinary care.
“Nutrition professionals should not operate in isolation; they should be fully integrated into teams with other healthcare professionals. Many clinical conditions
“Many clinical conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cancer, malnutrition, among others, have significant nutritional implications. Nutrition care should be integrated into the patient’s overall care plan,” she said.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary, LSHSC, Dr. Olufemi Omololu, advised nutritionists not to see themselves as being restricted to the “kitchen” but to strive to position themselves as potential leaders, managers and team players within the Lagos healthcare system.
“They should adopt the use of technology, improve their knowledge, do research, and conduct surveys to measure what they are doing and standardise it,” he said.
Also, the Lagos State Coordinator, Civil Society Scaling- Up Nutrition in Nigeria, Samuel Akinyode, emphasised the need for robust nutrition surveillance, clear performance indicators, monitoring of malnutrition and diet-related diseases, programme evaluation and quality data to guide decision-making.
Meanwhile, Dr. Femi Macaulay highlighted the importance of research utilisation, data-informed policy formulation, outcome measurement and the integration of evidence into clinical practice.
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