CAPPA Pushes For Healthy Food Policies On World Obesity Day
Tracy Ohovwore, Benin City
In commemoration of World Obesity Day, themed “Changing systems, healthier lives,” Corporation Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called for the adoption of healthy-good policies to promote Indigenous delicacies and combat the country’s rate of obesity and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
World Obesity Day encourages practical solutions to help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight, undergo proper treatment, and reverse the obesity crisis.
According to the World Obesity Federation (WOF), 1.9 billion, or 1 in 4, people will be living with obesity in 2035, costing the global economy about $4.32 trillion. This is twice the figure for 2010. Worse yet, there will be a 100 percent increase in childhood obesity between 2020 and 2035, while 1 in 4 people are likely to be living with obesity by 2035.
Following a statement on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Civil Society Organization (CSO) reinstated the alarming data on the global rate of obesity, advising that reliable measures need to be adopted, including reducing the excessive consumption of sugary drinks and soda, which are one of the risk factors for obesity.
According to CAPPA, the measures encompass raising the tax imposed on sugar-sweetened beverages (SEB) from the current N10 to N130 per liter or by any rate not less than 20 percent of the product’s retail price.
The NGO also noted that improved food quality systems, government intervention, and media sensitization can help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight and reverse the obesity crisis.
Speaking, CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, argued that junk foods can be linked to overweight and obesity, which demand speedy actions as these have flooded the markets, grooming Nigerians with unhealthy,ultra-processed food which negatively impacts health.
“Ten years after the international health community set aside March 4 as World Obesity Day, it is disheartening to see a condition once thought to be more prevalent in wealthy nations, steadily creeping among populations in low- and middle-income countries, including Nigeria,” Akinbode said.
He further added that in 2020, there were more than 21 million overweight and 12 million obese persons in the Nigerian population aged 15 years or more, accounting for an age-adjusted prevalence of about 20 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Referencing The WHO, the executive director noted that obese children are at higher risk of developing serious health problems, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and other respiratory problems, sleep disorders and liver disease.
“Childhood obesity also increases the risk of obesity, non-communicable diseases, premature death and disability in adulthood.
“Taking action on obesity is a critical step in reducing the burden of other chronic non-communicable diseases, hence the call for a raise in the SSB tax – a pro-health levy – to N130 per litre and the proceeds ploughed into the healthcare sector.” He added.
