The Nutrition Society of Nigeria in collaboration with the Institute of Dietetics Association of Nigeria has initiated a community outreach to promote good nutrition and lifestyle habits in Kaduna State.
Hajiya Hauwa Usman, Chairperson of the society, said the organisation had organised community outreach to create awareness on nutrition at Rigasa community in Igabi Local Government Area of the state.
She said the sensitisation exercise was part of activities lined up to commemorate the Nutrition and Dietetics Day.
“One of our activities is community outreach. We have lactating mothers, pregnant women, women of child bearing age, adult, elderly men and women among others.
“We are also checking the children to see if they have any deficiency in nutrition by taking their anthropometric measurement such as weight and height to find out if a child is suffering from severe acute malnutrition,” she said.
She said that children found with severe acute malnutrition would be referred to the hospital while those with moderate malnutrition would be given Micro Nutrients Powder (MNP), to get adequate nutrition.
Usman said that adults would receive free clinical test to check their blood pressure and sugar level as well as referral for proper medical attention.
She said that nutritionists would also teach the beneficiaries on the correct dietary management and healthy tips during the exercise.
The Chairperson said that Basal Metabolic Index (BMl) check would also be conducted for under weight and over weight people, adding that they would be guided on measures to take in terms of nutrition for healthy living.
“If you ask people to identify people who work in the hospital, they would mention doctors and nurses but would not mention dietitians. That is why we want to let them know us and what we do.
“Let them know that we don’t take care of children only, we also take care of healthy and sick people by prescribing diet in place of medicine” she said.
While commending the Kaduna state government for recruiting nutritionists in secondary health facilities, Usman urged the people to visit nutritionists and dietitians for advice on diet management.
Some of the beneficiaries, Idris Hauna and Maimunatu Salihu, commended the gesturd, describing it as “a step in the right direction.”
Haruna said that he went through the medical checks, and he was happy with the outcomes as both his blood pressure and sugar level had been certified normal.
He said he was advised to consume unprocessed food, vegetables and lots of water as well as exercise more and enjoy good sleep.
For her part, Salihu who presented her 11 months old baby for examinations, said that the results of the screening showed that her baby was healthy with no malnutrition problem.
“I was encouraged to continue breastfeed and give it other healthy baby food,” she said.
