You might be wondering what this article is all about. Well! You don’t have to think too far. There is obviously an association between the above two variables- Nigerian Foods and Pot belly (in other words, there is a relationship between the variables-I’m trying to talk like somebody in Medical Statistics lol. Don’t mind me; I just got back from Igbo-Ora where we were loaded with all manner of stuff during the tutorial sessions. Let’s save the remaining gist for another day).
Pot belly seems to be a common phenomenon in our immediate environment. Everywhere you turn to, at least 3 out of 10 men will have a protruding abdomen. Women are also not left out. There are however various reasons for protruding abdomen which could include medical conditions (I know we are gurus- we can keep giving differentials for protruding abdomen; I mean, we do that almost every day as medical students even though it depends on the department). Stress and excessive alcohol intake could also cause pot belly.
This article is not meant to be a piece of bad news for people who believe it is healthy to lug a bulging stomach around. No. For women, the danger may not be as present as it is for men but medical health stipulates toned stomach for both sexes.
The following reasons account for why some people’s stomachs grow more than the rest of their body.
• Sedentary lifestyle
• High calorie diet mostly containing carbohydrates and fats (an average Nigerian meal). All the greasy stuff is part of the staple meals in Nigeria.
• Lack of exercise- exercising is not so common in Nigeria especially because most Nigerians are busy and do not pay so much attention to their bodies
• Laziness- some people cannot afford to take brisk walks. They take bikes to ridiculously short distances. They use the lifts instead of the stairs (hmmm, medical students- they feed on junk food, pay little or no attention to their diet and still compete with consultants and even refuse collectors when going to 4th floor in the lift).
• Gym memberships are ridiculously overpriced-lol
• This is a very serious one: some women like men with pot bellies. They believe it signifies extravagance (my advice- just be careful around men with pot bellies; you might just be shocked at the differential diagnosis-lol)
I believe the incidence of pot belly and weight gain has to do with genes and the kinds of food consumed. Being BIG is considered sexy. Nigerians and Africans in general eat too much. I mean do we have to eat eba with 5 different kinds of meat? A huge bowl of rice? Or cook with an entire gallon of oil? And make matters worse by adding soft drinks (some people cannot eat a meal without adding a bottle of coke- they do not feel satisfied).
The Chinese eat rice with EVERY meal, for some parts of the country, it’s buns/bread. Pork is the staple meat. Beijingers like to cook with gallons of oil. They eat animal fat with their meat because the grease is good for the skin. There is no low fat anything in stores either. But sometimes, both are fit and even skinny. A relative of mine ate their food for 6 months and BLEW UP! She stopped eating their food or only ate it once or twice a week, and quickly went back to her original weight. Nigerian foods are definitely higher in cholesterol and people consume these foods in large portions, adding lots of extras coupled with lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle.
There are a great number of ways of bursting stomach bulge/pot belly:
• Avoid eating dinner very late or before going to bed as this tends to deposit fats around the belly area (I sincerely hope this is achievable in medical school when you come back from calls in some departments that don’t allow faffing very late at night and all you can think about is FOOD and SLEEP)
• Exercise to lose weight
• Upper, lower and oblique exercises for the abdomen, also help burn stomach fat
• Eat smaller meals a day to increase metabolism
• Avoid sugary and sweet foods as fats and sugar work together in increasing the body’s fat deposits (this will require much efforts as medical students are fond of popping things into their mouths when they are exhausted during a terribly long ward round-I hope we can all relate)
• Participate in Cardiovascular activities or exercise for at least three times a week for 20 mins to prevent fat build up (a brisk walk to school every day may do)
• Rehydrate yourself by increasing water consumption to loosen stomach fats. This is called water diet.
• Get a daily exercise routine
The key word is CONSISTENCY. It is very easy but tasking to get rid of that belly fat. There is this saying that doctors make the worst patients. As we advise our patients about dietary intake, we should also pay attention to our appearance and health.

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