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My experience as a doctor dealing with young people suffering from non-communicable diseases
Dr Priscilla Cheputyo
- September 18, 2020
One of the most difficult things I had to do as a medical doctor was to explain to a young person that I was going to initiate them on life-long medication for a chronic condition that would have been prevented if they just ate the “right foods”. One of the most common questions I had to scratch my head, in attempt to get an appropriate answer for my patients still, re-echoes in my head. “Doctor, if I stopped eating these unhealthy foods and started exercising vigorously, can’t these help me recover from this illness and discontinue these medications?” Despite how easy how the answer seemed, it was always tough getting a response that would not discourage my patients. These experiences significantly shaped my interest in human nutrition and the health of young people.
While growing up, I certainly knew certain conditions were meant for older people in 50+ years. However, it’s now becoming a common thing to find young people suffering from conditions known as Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) which include obesity, high blood pressure, cancers and congestive heart diseases which could have been easily prevented if we made the right food choices.
Many times when young people opt to eat, they focus on the taste, quantity, cost and environment (restaurants) where they will purchase this food and ignore the healthy facts associated with their food choices. As time goes by, many irreversible changes occur in their body leading to these NCDs.
During certain days of the week, many fast food restaurants are filled beyond capacity with the majority of the customers being young people. Apparently, most flock to these places because of price discounts and other food promotions taking place. They will eat more than they would have consumed under normal circumstances and even have more to take home for the next meal.
Many times, I sit back and ask myself how these young people could have gotten the information that led them to these eating places, whether they are aware of the health outcomes in the long run and what the impacts of these outcome may be! I strongly believe that each one of us would want to see our children growing up healthy and productive to their family and country. So, for my graduate research I am conducting research on exposure to fast food and beverage advertising and its relationship with food choices of university students in a few selected Ugandan universities. My supervisors are Dr Gloria Seruwagi and Dr Henry Wamani, but I am also excited to be supported by other members of the FACe-U study team.
When we conduct this study in the different universities, we will be able to find out what the food choices of young people are and also how they are exposed to fast food and beverage adverts. It is our hope that findings from this study will be used by key stakeholders, including management at these different universities, to consider putting nutrition and the overall health of young people among their top priority items. We shall also use study findings to empower and support young people in making healthy food choices as we also to push for more robust policies to regulate the fast food and beverage advertising industry. We need to see responsible advertising which protects vulnerable populations, including children and young people. Then perhaps doctors, nutritionists and other stakeholders will not have to deal with this growing yet preventable NCD burden!
About the Author
Priscilla is a medical doctor and finalist graduate student in Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) pursuing a Master of Public Health Nutrition (MPH-N). She can be reached on cheppriscy.cp@gmail.com
