Angela Onwuzoo
Excessive sugar intake not only leads to diabetes and obesity but has also been identified as a major contributor to high blood pressure, alongside excess salt consumption and unhealthy diets, which health and nutrition experts have consistentlywarned against.
Experts describe sugar as one of the greatest threats to cardiovascular health, warning that people who indulge in high sugar intake are at increased risk of inflammation, cancer, diabetes and fatty liver disease.
They said excessive consumption of sugar contributes significantly to the burden of non-communicable diseases in the country and can weaken the immune system, making the body more vulnerable to infections.
The Nigerian Hypertension Society says about 30 per cent of the Nigerian adult population currently suffers from hypertension.
Health and nutrition professionals therefore advised Nigerians to reduce their sugar intake and avoid beverages with added sugars, such as fizzy drinks, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, flavoured milk and sugar-sweetened juices.
The World Health Organisation has also affirmed that consuming excess sugar negatively impacts health, stressing that high sugar intake increases unhealthy weight gain, raises the risk of heart disease and hypertension, and damages teeth, leading to dental caries.
The global health body noted that simple or free sugars compromise the nutritional quality of diets by providing significant energy without essential nutrients.
According to the WHO, even fruit juices can contain very high levels of sugar and should be consumed in moderation.
Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, a past president of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Wasiu Afolabi, said many people are unaware that excessive sugar intake can significantly harm the body and affect blood pressure.
The Professor of Community Nutrition at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, explained that sugar plays a role alongside salt in the body’s electrolyte balance, particularly glucose, and that excessive consumption can influence blood pressure levels.
“Because sugar is involved together with salt as part of the body’s electrolytes, excessive intake can affect blood pressure,” he said.
He further explained that excess sugar is converted into storage forms in the body. “Sugar is a carbohydrate and when consumed in excess, it is converted into glycogen, and some of it is further converted into fat, leading to weight gain,” he noted.
According to him, weight gain can result in obesity, which is a major risk factor for diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
The nutrition expert added that excessive sugar consumption can also lead to fatty liver disease by causing fat accumulation around the liver.
“When sugar is consumed excessively, it also promotes inflammation, which reduces immunity and makes the body more susceptible to infections and other diseases, including cancer,” Afolabi said.
He observed that in many developed countries where diets are high in sugar and salt, diseases such as cancer, diabetes and obesity are widespread and are often described as diseases of affluence.
“Unfortunately, these diseases have now become common in our environment due to changes in dietary habits, with people consuming more sugar-sweetened beverages and foods high in sugar, salt and calories,” he added.
Afolabi also warned that high sugar intake is harmful to children, noting that it can cause dental caries and increase the risk of teething problems.
He advised Nigerians to shun excessive sugar consumption and adopt healthier lifestyles.
Meanwhile, a family physician and former Secretary-General of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Jide Onyekwelu, said many people living with chronic non-communicable diseases are unaware that these conditions are largely caused by unhealthy lifestyles.
Onyekwelu advised Nigerians to invest in regular medical check-ups to enable early detection of such debilitating diseases.
“It is very important that everyone from the age of 30 and above, especially those with a family history of hypertension, checks their blood pressure every six months,” he said.
He added that routine health checks for people aged 30 and above should include blood pressure monitoring, urine tests for protein and blood tests for sugar at least twice a year.
Onyekwelu noted that although hypertension, diabetes and chronic kidney disease are not curable, they can be effectively managed when detected early.
In a 2022 article published in PubMed Central, researchers identified high sugar intake as a potential environmental risk factor for the rising incidence of several non-communicable diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
The researchers noted that the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed foods has increased significantly over the past 30 years.
They concluded that understanding the role of excessive hexose intake in the regulation of inflammatory diseases could help address critical public health challenges, adding that close attention should be paid to the link between high glucose-induced immune imbalance and tumour development.
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