As Nigerians celebrate during the festive season, medical experts have cautioned against excessive eating during and after the yuletide.
They explained that overeating can trigger discomfort in individuals and worsen long-term health conditions, especially among people with underlying illnesses.
The experts, who spoke exclusively to PUNCH Healthwise, warned that overeating could lead to non-communicable diseases such as heart attack, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
A Consultant Endocrinologist and Physician at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade, said overeating often begins with seemingly mild symptoms that many people ignore.
Fasanmade explained that while these symptoms may appear temporary, persistent overeating has more serious consequences.
He listed symptoms of overeating to include a protruding stomach, discomfort, exhaustion, fatigue, sluggishness, drowsiness, heartburn, and bloating.
“Well, the first thing about overeating is indigestion. Some people will be belching, and some will not be able to lie down or sleep because they have overeaten. In some extreme cases, some people start purging.
“But if a person overeats on a long-term basis, the outcome is very obvious. The person will gradually become obese by putting on weight. And obesity comes with many problems, ranging from hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and even cancer, which has been linked to overindulgence in eating,” he said.
According to him, physical discomfort such as bloating and abdominal pain is another indicator that an individual has gone beyond healthy limits.
“When people eat so much, the stomach becomes painful. You notice that you feel bloated, uncomfortable, and restless,” he added.
Highlighting the health complications, Fasanmade, who is the Dean of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences at the College of Medicine, UNILAG, Idi-Araba, said several diseases are closely linked to habitual overeating.
“Many conditions are linked to constant overeating. Diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol are among them. Fatty liver is another one as well. All of these conditions are dangerous to the body,” he stated.
The physician said every organ in the body suffers when an individual overeats.
Fasanmade said, “Overeating can lead to plenty of fat in the liver, which is fatty liver. And all of those things are what lead to diabetes, hypertension, and heart attack. Excess food leads to damage to all the organs of the body. And over time, if you eat food excessively, you have a higher risk of cancer.”
He warned that overeating during the festive season poses particular risks for people living with chronic medical conditions.
“For people who already have underlying medical conditions and still go against medical advice during festive seasons because food is abundant, the implications can be serious,” Fasanmade said.
Fasanmade, however, advised Nigerians to adopt simple habits to enjoy celebrations without compromising their health.
He recommended drinking water before meals as a simple strategy to control portion sizes.
Also speaking, a former President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Prof. Wasiu Afolabi, said consistent overeating disrupts the body’s energy balance.
“When people constantly overeat, it leads to an excessive accumulation of energy, particularly when it is not commensurate with energy expenditure,” he said.
He explained that prolonged excess energy intake eventually results in overweight and obesity.
“When you consume energy in excess, and it is not matched with physical activity or energy use, you enter a state known as positive energy balance. This means the person is likely to become overweight, and when this continues over a long period, it progresses to obesity,” Afolabi said.
Afolabi, a Professor of Community Nutrition at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, noted that overeating also causes immediate discomfort and worsens existing health conditions.
“Normally, when someone has underlying medical conditions, food is expected to be taken in moderation. Taking excessive food during festivities can lead to serious problems and can exacerbate the underlying condition of that individual,” he warned.
Afolabi added that moderation, caution with alcohol and sugary drinks, and regular physical activity are essential during the festive season to prevent discomfort and long-term health complications.
The habit of overeating may eventually override hunger regulation, encouraging an individual to eat for pleasure rather than hunger, according to an online medical portal, Healthline.
Also, researchers from the University of Bath, United Kingdom, in a 2020 article published in The Conversation, said understanding how the body copes easily with occasions of extreme calorie intake will help individuals understand what goes wrong in the long-term of indulging in overeating.
“Healthy humans rely on the body’s ability to work harder in times of need (by increasing insulin, gut hormones, and heart rate) to maintain metabolic control.
“When we repeatedly eat too many calories at each meal, metabolic syndrome (a combination of high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity) will ensue, and the body becomes unable to react to these situations,” the researchers said.
