It is a common belief that most Nigerian men when married develop big stomach. Regardless of the popular old saying that "give money to the one with big stomach", there are many factors responsible for this and the impacts on their health which this essay will demonstrate.
The major factor is probably physical inactivity or lack of exercise. Most Nigerian men change their normal routine following marriage in order to suit their spouses. For instance, they limit activities like sporting, biking, footballing because they do not want to get injured. Furthermore, big stomach has been scientifically attributed to high intake of carbohydrate diets. Most Nigerian house wives believe cooking high carbohydrate diets like pounded yam and yellow garri assorted with lots of meats is a good way to take care of their husbands. In addition to this, there is high intake of fatty foods that also contribute with increase body fats. Lastly, stress is also a factor responsible for this menace. Most married men have to double their hustle in order to cater for the family, which can result in not having enough body rest, and late night foods, that may contribute to protruding abdomen.
Regarding the impacts on their health, perhaps the major impact is predisposition to some chronic medical illnesses. For example, it has been scientifically proven that too much body carbohydrate, stored inform of glucose predisposes them to having diabetes. In addition, through the sorbitol pathway, excess body glucose leads to fat which when deposited in blood vessels causes atherosclerosis which causes ischaemic heart diseases like angina. Lastly, there is often associated reduced life span. Physical inactivity, stress, and late presentation for medical checkup can lead to early death in them.
In conclusion, the factors of this trend are primarily to do with reduced physical inactivity or lack of exercise, and the impacts on their health will be in terms of predisposition to chronic medical illnesses.
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