LIFESTYLE diseases such as diabetes, cancers of the digestive tract, the liver and lungs as well as the ailments of the heart are on the rise in Papua New Guinea.
These diseases are robbing the country of many of its productive workers between the ages of 35 and 50.
For a fledgling economy such as PNG, that cannot be good news because it means more and more of our brightest and best talents are succumbing to preventable diseases and, thus, leaving voids in experience and quality in the nation’s educated and skilled workforce.
Almost every week, it seems, one will find in the obituaries column of the newspapers a death notice of a senior professional or some other middle management personnel who dies at what many in the first world would consider middle aged or younger.
Deaths, attributable to lifestyle diseases, of individuals barely in their 50s in cities and rural areas are becoming so commonplace that one would assume that the country’s life expectancy has surely
taken a dip since independence.
In fact, one would hasten to think that the generation of leaders that ushered PNG to independence in the mid-1970s will probably outlive the generation that followed them.
Sir Michael Somare, Sir Paulias Matane, Sir Matiabe Yuwi, Sir Peter Lus and men of that ilk are surprisingly still spry and relatively able-bodied despite their advanced years.
These septuagenarians are becoming a rare breed in modern PNG society, owing mostly to their fortune of being born in an era (pre-World War II) when the activities of the indigenous population were not greatly affected by western influences, particularly in diet and daily life.
At present, PNG is awash in a confluence of modern ways that has, over time, reaped a deadly remittance on the pleasures and conveniences it has provided. The consumption of unhealthy foods, coupled with mostly sedentary jobs, has no doubt contributed to mortality rates in certain age groups.
What has also been a major factor in the poor state of affairs in public health has been the blasé attitude many Papua New Guineans have to healthy living.
There is no strong focus (in public, in schools or workplaces) on living, eating and thinking to benefit all the aspects of the individual. The amount of harmful fats (cholesterol and trans fats), sugars and poor quality protein and carbohydrates consumed on a daily basis is truly mind-blowing.
According to some estimates, the nutritional value of a series of meals eaten daily by the average city/town dweller in this country is well below what one would find in fellow Pacific Island countries, let alone places like Australia and New Zealand.
The big question here is: Are Papua New Guineans aware that how they live their lives everyday including what they eat, what they put into their bodies (smoking and drinking) and whether they exercise directly impacts their health, not just in the short term of a week or month or year but how they fare later in life?
Is there enough education and emphasis on protecting and preserving quality of life by investing in proper and proven habits like eating foods high in nutrients, complex carbs, proteins and the other trace minerals necessary for a healthy body and, in turn, a better and longer life?
Eliminating or, at the very least, cutting back on processed foods such as canned food, white bread, white rice, soft drinks, etc ... is a huge factor in living healthier lives.
Going back to village foods such as kaukau, yams, taro, vegetables and fish would seem an easy alternative for many in our urban areas and should be the mantra for a new and healthier PNG.
If it has worked for our grandfathers, why not us?
Physical activity may not always be a joy for many, especially in the regimented life of a city, but fewer and fewer people are maintaining a recreational pursuit in their middle age as a way to keep fit and trim.
Mostly we are seeing our office worker content to sit some more at home after sitting all day at work.
This must change as we need to take better care of ourselves if we are to grow with the country.
THE NATIONAL OP/ED
These diseases are robbing the country of many of its productive workers between the ages of 35 and 50.
For a fledgling economy such as PNG, that cannot be good news because it means more and more of our brightest and best talents are succumbing to preventable diseases and, thus, leaving voids in experience and quality in the nation’s educated and skilled workforce.
Almost every week, it seems, one will find in the obituaries column of the newspapers a death notice of a senior professional or some other middle management personnel who dies at what many in the first world would consider middle aged or younger.
Deaths, attributable to lifestyle diseases, of individuals barely in their 50s in cities and rural areas are becoming so commonplace that one would assume that the country’s life expectancy has surely
taken a dip since independence.
In fact, one would hasten to think that the generation of leaders that ushered PNG to independence in the mid-1970s will probably outlive the generation that followed them.
Sir Michael Somare, Sir Paulias Matane, Sir Matiabe Yuwi, Sir Peter Lus and men of that ilk are surprisingly still spry and relatively able-bodied despite their advanced years.
These septuagenarians are becoming a rare breed in modern PNG society, owing mostly to their fortune of being born in an era (pre-World War II) when the activities of the indigenous population were not greatly affected by western influences, particularly in diet and daily life.
At present, PNG is awash in a confluence of modern ways that has, over time, reaped a deadly remittance on the pleasures and conveniences it has provided. The consumption of unhealthy foods, coupled with mostly sedentary jobs, has no doubt contributed to mortality rates in certain age groups.
What has also been a major factor in the poor state of affairs in public health has been the blasé attitude many Papua New Guineans have to healthy living.
There is no strong focus (in public, in schools or workplaces) on living, eating and thinking to benefit all the aspects of the individual. The amount of harmful fats (cholesterol and trans fats), sugars and poor quality protein and carbohydrates consumed on a daily basis is truly mind-blowing.
According to some estimates, the nutritional value of a series of meals eaten daily by the average city/town dweller in this country is well below what one would find in fellow Pacific Island countries, let alone places like Australia and New Zealand.
The big question here is: Are Papua New Guineans aware that how they live their lives everyday including what they eat, what they put into their bodies (smoking and drinking) and whether they exercise directly impacts their health, not just in the short term of a week or month or year but how they fare later in life?
Is there enough education and emphasis on protecting and preserving quality of life by investing in proper and proven habits like eating foods high in nutrients, complex carbs, proteins and the other trace minerals necessary for a healthy body and, in turn, a better and longer life?
Eliminating or, at the very least, cutting back on processed foods such as canned food, white bread, white rice, soft drinks, etc ... is a huge factor in living healthier lives.
Going back to village foods such as kaukau, yams, taro, vegetables and fish would seem an easy alternative for many in our urban areas and should be the mantra for a new and healthier PNG.
If it has worked for our grandfathers, why not us?
Physical activity may not always be a joy for many, especially in the regimented life of a city, but fewer and fewer people are maintaining a recreational pursuit in their middle age as a way to keep fit and trim.
Mostly we are seeing our office worker content to sit some more at home after sitting all day at work.
This must change as we need to take better care of ourselves if we are to grow with the country.
THE NATIONAL OP/ED