Overeating could lead to heart attack, cancer, others – Medical experts warn

Medical experts have cautioned against overeating, warning that the habit comes with a lot of health problems, including non-communicable diseases such as heart attack, cancer, diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

According to Consultant Endocrinologist/Physician at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade, every organ in the body suffers when an individual overeats.

Prof. Fasanmade, who is the President of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Society of Nigeria, said overeating is bad, stressing that anything done in excess is bad.

“If you overeat, you stand the risk of indigestion, that is the immediate risk and you won’t be comfortable. And if you also overfeed a child, the child can also vomit. But for adults is just mainly indigestion and abdominal pain. That is the immediate effect.

“It is the long-term effect that is obesity. If you are overeating every day, the body has to store the excess and that will lead to obesity and then plenty of fat in the blood which is high cholesterol.

“Overeating can lead to plenty of fat in the liver which is fatty liver. And all of those things are what lead to diabetes, hypertension, and heart attack. Excess food leads to damage to all the organs of the body. And over time, if you eat food excessively, you have a higher risk of cancer,” Fasanmade said.

Also speaking, a Professor of Nursing Science at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Prof. Mary Mgbekem, said overeating occurs when an individual consumes more food than the body can utilize to make energy or about the energy that is expended through physical activities or excretion.

Prof. Mgbekem listed several factors that result in overeating among individuals.

“Alcohol consumption (1-2 servings) and watching television (25-45 minutes) according to Holwegner (2014) often result in increased ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone. This in turn leads to impaired inhibition causing the reward centre of the brain to be activated, causing the individual to want more food.

“Sleep deprivation of fewer than 5.5 hours negatively affects the blood sugar clearance and insulin sensitivity as well as reduces leptin, a hormone that suppresses appetite.

“Stress eating: Research has shown that long-term stress floods the body with cortisol, a hormone that plays a part in the fight or flight system, thus causing the body to want to refuel itself after a stressful encounter,” she said.

According to her, fatigue, stress, anxiety, and peer pressure also result in overeating.

“The festive periods like Christmas and New Year are festive periods with dietary excesses that many people cannot control. “During festive periods, people overeat due to social obligations or due to their emotional connection with food.

“The festive season is a time when families gather among themselves and friends over a feast of delicacies and drinks as they catch up on each other’s lives in the past years. On such occasions, the tendency to overindulge in the rich festive foods typically leads to overeating,” Prof. Mgbekem added.

The nutritionist enumerated symptoms of overeating to include, an expanded stomach beyond normal size, discomfort, feeling tired, sluggish or drowsy, heartburn and bloating.

Recommending the way forward, the nurse urged people to avoid a diet that makes them demand more than required.

“Avoid skipping meals, practice mindfulness, stay hydrated, try yoga, eat more fibre, lean out the kitchen, eat breakfast every day, get enough sleep, increase protein intake, plan your meals,” she said.