The Nation Newspaper

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  • World Hypertension Day: What you need to know

    World Hypertension Day: What you need to know

    Man is basically a spirit, however, he lives in a body; the responsibility of keeping his house (body) in a sound and healthy state is totally his. We cannot be derelict to our bodily functions because regardless of how articulate our dreams and aspirations for the future are, we still need our physical bodies to take us to that desired future; therefore, the need to stay healthy cannot be overemphasized.

    Today, we celebrate World Hypertension Day (WHD): Please don’t get it twisted, we are not celebrating the disease, but the concerted efforts of professionals around this globe we call earth – in ensuring that we (to a very great extent) are able to manage the condition and live healthy lives.

    The world hypertension day was first inaugurated on the 14th of May, 2005 by the World Hypertension League (WHL). However, the date was later changed to the 17th of May. Ever since, the day has become a global phenomenon to raise the consciousness of the people to the prevention and management of the disease.

    This year’s theme is “Knowledge Number”; its goal is primarily to increase public awareness on the disease and provide necessary medications and medical services to help citizens in controlling the rate of hypertension in the country.

    The cause of hypertension may not be known. This type of hypertension is called essential or primary hypertension. Hypertension can sometimes be caused by other medical conditions, such as kidney disease. This type of hypertension is called secondary hypertension.

    Regardless of the cause(s) of the disease, your chances of going down with the disease or suffering grave health backlashes will be reduced if you follow the suggestions below:

    • Check your BP regularly.
    • Limit sodium (salt) as directed.
    • Follow the meal plan recommended by your healthcare provider.
    • Exercise to maintain a healthy weight.
    • Decrease stress.
    • Limit alcohol.
    • Do not smoke.
    • Manage any other health conditions you have.

    Talk with your healthcare provider about these and other ways to manage hypertension.

     

     

     

  • Six MYTHS ABOUT HANGOVERS

    Six MYTHS ABOUT HANGOVERS

    There are certain misleading myths about hangovers that have become beliefs or truths a lot of people adhere to and advise others to adhere to. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, helps to dispel some of these misleading myths about hangovers. The following are the 6 misleading myths about hangovers.
    Hangovers Are No Big Deal
    They are a big deal. Heavy drinking significantly affects the central nervous system, it ‘tinkers’ with the brain chemicals (hence the headaches, dizziness, and nausea) and sends you to the bathroom often, leaving you dehydrated. The morning-after price to pay is a pounding headache, fatigue, cotton mouth, a queasy stomach, and a weakened immune system.
    Hangovers Affect Women and Men in the Same Way
    Hangovers are not gender blind, they affect men and women differently, and unfortunately the more significant effect is on the women. If a man and woman drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman is more likely to feel the effects. This is because men have a higher percentage of water in their bodies that helps to dilute the alcohol they drink. With women, more alcohol just builds up in their bloodstream.
    Only Binge Drinkers Get Hangovers
    This isn’t the case all the time. You don’t have to ‘get wasted’ to get a hangover the next morning. Only a couple of drinks can trigger headaches and other hangover symptoms in some people. It is advisable to have water or a non-alcoholic drink between each beer or hard drink you take, to help you remain hydrated and cut down the overall amount of alcohol you drink.
    Eat After Drinking
    The fact is that eating after you’re already drunk is useless. For it to matter or for it to be of any effect, food has to be eaten before you drink. This way the food can help to slow down how fast your body absorbs alcohol when alcohol is consumed. Probably the only thing that might work is drinking as much water as you can, after drinking or when drunk, this can help you stay hydrated.
    Alcohol Helps You Sleep Well
    It does the exact opposite. Alcohol might help you doze off more quickly but it eventually undermines the quality of your sleep. The alcohol consumed tends to mess with your REM (Rapid Eye Movement) cycles and you tend to wake up too soon. The hangover from heavy drinking can also strike in the last part of the night, leaving you too uncomfortable to go back to sleep.
    Coffee is the Cure
    The worst thing you can take to help cure a hangover is coffee. This is because too much coffee tends to lead to more dehydration because the caffeine in coffee is a diuretic that triggers the body to get rid of water, which can make the hangover much worse. Drinking more alcohol to cure a hangover is also another bad idea that only helps to postpone your hangover with possibly worse symptoms. After a night of drunkenness, the best thing you can drink is water to counter dehydration and replace lost electrolytes.
  • World Hypertension Day

    World Hypertension Day

    World Hypertension day is celebrated every year on the 17th of May to raise the public awareness about hypertension – its complications and preventive measures.

    The theme for this year is “know your blood pressure”, which is coined by the World Hypertension League (WHL).

    Hypertension is a condition generally regarded as high blood pressure during which the arterial blood pressure raises to high level from the normal level. It is a medical condition known as “silent killer” as it does not show any clear symptoms. For severe hypertension, symptoms include headaches, sleepiness, blurred vision, fatigue, dizziness, breathing difficulty, irregular heartbeat which may even lead to coma.

    We can understand this disease in two ways: primary or essential hypertension and secondary hypertension. The primary hypertension is the most common type, whose cause(s) remains relatively unknown. Whereas,the cause(s) of secondary hypertensionranges fromabuse of meditations, alcoholic drinks, bad food, adrenal problems etc.

    It is an inheritable disease which can be transferred to children from their parents with occurrences and history of the disease. Individuals who are diabetic, obese, and drink and smoke are more susceptible to the disease. Some of the complications include: narrowing of arteries, blood clot in brain (Stroke), heart attack, kidney failure, heart failure etc.

    It is not easy to treat the primary hypertension but on the contrary, the secondary hypertension, which is a more severe condition can be managed and cured if treated well.

    World Hypertension day is one designed to raise the consciousness of the pubic to the fierce urgency of the now to maintain a normal blood pressure. According to research, globally, about 1.8 billion people are suffering from hypertension; the most staggering statistics is that 50% of them are unaware of their condition and some of them who are aware of their condition do not take any medical action towards treatment.

    There are basically 4 stages of hypertension; prehypertension, mild, moderate and severe.

    The normal blood pressure is 120/80, where 120 represent the peak pressure in the arteries and 80 represent the minimum pressure in the arteries. Blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89 is called pre-hypertension (to denote increased risk of hypertension), and a blood pressure of 140/90 and above is considered  hypertension.

    According to Dr.kodjo Soron, medical Director of Pfizer NEAR, “this silent killer is on high rampage because, people with this condition do not usually exhibit symptoms and if untreated, it damages the arteries and vital organs in the body, and this ignorance can last for years”.

    For this reason it is important that blood pressure screening should be done periodically using a monitoring device such as sphygmomanometer, blood pressure meter etc.

    Finally, it is a general statement that prevention is better than cure; therefore, prevention of hypertension must be attacked from its primal stage bytaking deliberate decisions to make lifestyle modifications. Also, prevention can be achieved on different levels by eating healthy, maintaining a healthy weight, engage in moderate physical activity, limit alcohol consumption, limit smoking,and consume a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products. Applying these approaches helps prevents blood pressure from increasing and reduces the prevalence of hypertension.

  • Celebrating World Telecommunication Day

    Celebrating World Telecommunication Day

    Gone are the days when various telecommunication gizmos where the exclusive preserve of the rich. It is funny now, but just a few years ago, (more specifically, between the year 2000 and 2003), the cost of a mobile phone was on the high end; talkless of the price of a Sim Card.

    Today, the old woman down the street who sells herbs (alaagbo) has at least one mobile phone, the fashion designer has literally taken his business to the cloud (internet), and in a more jocular manner, we hear that Babalawos (traditional herbalists) now contact the deity using Google.

    All these are pointers to the plethora benefits of the telecommunication revolution in our dear nation – Nigeria.

    Going back to the annals of history, we understand that early means of communicating over a distance included visual signals such as beacons, smoke signals, telegraphs, signal flags, optical heliographs etc.

    Other examples of pre-modern long-distance communication included audio messages such as coded drumbeats, lung-blown horns, and loud whistles.

    The wake of the 20th century witnessed some kind of renaissance and innovations, especially when it pertains to long distance communication. Electrical and electromagnetic technologies, such as telegraph, telephone, teleprinter, networks, radio, microwave transmission, fiber optics, and communications satellites were prominent.

    The theme for this year World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is “Big Data For Big Impact”. It focuses on the power of Big Data for development and aims to explore how to turn imperfect, complex, often unstructured data into actionable information in a development context.

    The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.

    Information gathering is a major boon for any nation, therefore, the fierce urgency to garner the demographic statistics of the denizens of a country. This way the policy and administrative wonks can forge a template for macro manpower planning and make informed economic decisions.

    Analysed data generated from telecommunication companies can strongly complement the evidence-based nature of decision-making that can be leveraged at national, regional and international levels to drive success towards attaining all 17 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030.

    In more practical terms, Telecommunication is the transmission of signs, signals, messages, words, writings, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic systems. It occurs when the exchange of information between communication participants includes the use of technology.

    The impact of telecommunication on education has become so enormous that it cannot be expressed on a sheet of paper. Of course, the functionality of the various distant learning programmes situated all over, which is on the increase on a daily basis, wouldn’t have been possible without the telecommunication system such as the internet.

    More so, the series of educative programmes, soap operas, and what have you, being televised by the various television stations across the country can also be included as one of the avenues that have encouraged distant learning.

    As regards politics, telecommunication has recently proven to the citizenry that they can as well observe any electoral activity such as voting and counting of election results from their respective homes without stepping out of their premises.

    The recent Presidential primary election conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which was observed by every Nigerian both home abroad, is a good example of the said practice. Such has helped to improve transparency during elections, thereby avoiding occurrence of various possible electoral malpractices and crises.

    It is no longer news that millions of Nigerians are currently employed by several telecommunication companies operating in the country. Statistics show that over fifteen percent (15%) of Nigerian citizens are engaged with various telecom firms. Suffice it to say that the telecommunication industry is one of the major employers of labour in Nigeria, likewise other countries across the globe.

    Though telecommunication technologies play a very vital role in the social, economic, and even political development of any nation, it’s noteworthy that several anomalies need to be addressed in the sector in question.

    A situation whereby uncensored films, pictures or music are disseminated either via the television or the social media is totally unwholesome to the state of any nation, thus ought to be looked into by the relevant authorities such as the Nigerian Communications Communication (NCC) and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

    Finally, the incessant and opportunistic billing of customers by these telecommunication companies needs to be put on the leash and curtailed. Customers should be able to get real value for their monies – whether it be for data or calls.

  • Jollof rice war continues at CBL, as Eko Kings face Warriors

    Jollof rice war continues at CBL, as Eko Kings face Warriors

    The impression was that Nigeria’s Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo had settled the jollof rice war after the country’s Information Minister Lai Mohammed had stoked the fire by making an unpopular declaration concerning the ‘fight.’

    But the debate for the country with the best jollof rice is continuing with the Continental Basketball League as Senegalese-American, Ndiaye Rawane has said the best jollof rice is prepared and served in Senegal.

    The 6-10 centre who stars for Lagos City Warriors in the CBL May Madness tournament told the media he was not just in Nigeria for the basketball tournament but would also like to use his time in Lagos to correct the “wrong” impression that Nigeria offers the best jollof rice.

    Please permit me to quickly correct something I heard on my arrival here. It’s not Nigeria that has the best jollof rice; we (Senegal) make the best jollof rice and that’s the undisputed fact.

    When challenged on the spot, the centre from North Carolina, USA maintained his stand. He was, however, quick to add his love for Nigeria despite the jollof rice differences.

    “I have a couple of very good Nigerian friends in North Carolina but it makes a whole lot of difference visiting their place of origin. It’s my first time in Nigeria but I know I will surely have a good time here.”

    Apart from those from other continents, there are players from about 11 African countries in the competition. Thomas Doug of the Lagos City Warriors is an American power forward also in Lagos for the pro basketball jams. He also got a taste of the jollof rice war even before he could get a spoon of the cuisine.

    “The jollof rice matter has touched me because of the way it’s been discussed and so I am now really interested. There was so much debate in the bus that conveyed us from the airport to the hotel on arrival. The jollof rice argument got me laughing.”

    Today the players will put aside the cuisine arguments as Eko Kings take on Lagos Warriors from 7pm in the only match of the day at the Teslim Balogun Stadium. The Kings have won their two games, while the Warriors will be looking to get their first win this Pan African tournament set across Lagos, Yaounde and Libreville.

    In the last games played on Sunday, Yaoundé Giants and Eko Kings won their second games to stay one hundred percent. Giants captained by Christian Bayang defeated Lagos City Stars 92-64 in the first of the two matches played on Sunday. The experienced guard shot 11 points as the Cameroonian team won their second straight games. The crowd favourite and Giants point guard Jones Esters led scoring on both sides hitting 27 points. The American shot 87.5 from the free throw line. Prinsloo who shot 24 points led City Stars.

  • Child Saftey: The Horrors of Girl Circumcision

    Child Saftey: The Horrors of Girl Circumcision

    Sometime last week, I had a heated debate with my colleague. According to her, she was circumcised when she was 10 years old by a local mid wife. As expected, it was a horrible experience.

    She is from Urhobo in Delta State, where it is a tradition to circumcise girls. I watched in discomfort as she described the inhuman experience. A blade was heated. She was made to lie down on a wide banana leaf on the ground, her legs were spread wide, forced down by two stern looking men. Without any form of anesthesia, she was cut through with the hot blade.  Her roof tattering scream fell on deaf ears. Her clitoris was chopped off in the most inhumane and barbaric way, she bled for days and the local midwife had to apply iodine on her vagina to stop the bleeding.

    Still, the pain was unbearable; she sat in hot water day and night for close to three weeks and had difficulty in urinating for many days. It was a highly traumatic experience for her.

    Her mother consoled her and reassured her that it was a necessary tradition which would welcome her to womanhood. she was visibly depressed as she relieved the traumatic experience and with sad eyes she told me that her daughter was about to experience the trauma she went through, her in-laws are insisting on circumcising her teenage daughter and she didn’t know how to stop them. At that juncture I lost my cool, how could such a barbaric tradition still be in existence? I was visibly shocked, I stared at her hoping she was joking, an educated family like hers could not possibly still be stuck in such archaic belief, it was unbelievable!. The look on her face was enough to convince me that she was very serious.

    We all have heard about this barbaric act and probably thought it’s a thing of the past. I did my research and discovered that it’s still being practiced in some parts of Nigeria.

    It is called female genital mutilation. It is the partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia majora. This procedure is an abuse of the girl child; it is cruel, inhuman, degrading and should be abolished completely. It should be a crime to put a child through such horrific experience.

    Female genital mutilation can result to death through severe bleeding and infection of the reproductive system. Not only would the child experience excruciating pain during the procedure, girls who have undergone FGM, suffer many long term negative effects which can be physical, sexual and psychological.

    The dangers associated with FGM are so many that you begin to wonder why so called ‘educated’ parents would want to put their child through such trauma. FGM can cause difficult and painful intercourse, reduce sexual desire and cause life threatening problems during labour and child birth. Most parents are of the belief that female genital mutilation will preserve a girl’s virginity and prepare her for marriage but that is the other way round as most girls that have undergone FGM become promiscuous in the quest to get sexual satisfaction.

    No child should be forced to go through FGM and the law should protect vulnerable children who are at risk from this harmful practice. There are no acceptable reasons to justify FGM and it should be totally eradicated and illegal to conduct such procedure on a child. Like my colleagues daughter, there are a lot more children who are about to go under the hot infectious blade in the name of girls circumcision. I hope the law can protect their sexual reproductive health and rights and end this age-long barbaric act.

    Njideka Obi, a lawyer, Child Safety Advocate, and Child Safety Educator

    08060424282, safersmarterchildren@gmail.com

  • Infographics: NASS increased budget

    Infographics: NASS increased budget

    The National Assembly has raised its 2017 budget allocation by N10 billion, from the initial N115 billion to N125. What does this mean for the country? Is the increase a welcome development at a time that the masses are demanding a reduction in the cost of running the National Assembly?

  • Of masquerades and marauders

    Of masquerades and marauders

    ‘Ojuju calabar’, that infantile rhyme we sang with so much zest and relish when we were yah-high was the song that popped into my head when a scary human entity dressed in funny regalia approached me with a whip as I was walking by the busy road of Mushin. He claims to be a masquerade, and felt it was his legitimate and spiritual right to demand my share in the gods token.

    What a malady! I thought. I refused to give him any money; disappointedly, he left me and went to stop another innocent passerby who gave him the sum he requested for because of the fear of being whipped.

    These so called masquerades who take on the toga of ‘god’s tax collectors’, move around, constituting cultural and environmental nuisance,  scare people and forcefully collect money from them.

    In an interview with a masquerade called “Eegun Shokoti Alagbede” he said “owo ti a n gba yii fun etutu ilu ni, ati fun irunmole”, meaning – the money we collect from people is to make sacrifices to cleanse the land, and to appease the gods.

    In another interview with a passerby, who is a student of the University of Lagos, he expressed himself with a rather caustic and obnoxious opinion about masquerades and their macabre dances. According to him, ‘I hate those monsters called masquerades because they forcefully collect money from people and if one refuses to give them money they can almost use their whip on him or her’.

    These ‘marauders’ have become a nuisance in Mushin market. They have added ‘nuisance value’ to our collective patrimony.

    But as the popular saying goes ‘one man’s food is another man’s poison’, so is the case of Fabiyi another passerby who believes in our ethereal obligation to the gods; that is, it is important to give the god’s their tokens regularly in order to avoid unforeseen disasters and pestilences.

    The masquerades have consistently claimed that the money collected is meant for the cleansing of the land – for peace and tranquility. I am not one that would readily go against our culture and traditions that have been in existence before my great grandparents, however, any culture that become too toxic and is clearly a threat to freedom and expression is anti-people and anti-existence: It should be put on leash.

    I believe the government should take deliberate steps to curb the nefarious and disgraceful acts of these marauders who plunder of hard-earned money in the name of the gods.

  • Fatherhood crisis (2)

    Fatherhood crisis (2)

    “Sir, is it a crime not to have a son?” was the question a reader posed when she called to react to my article last week. Of course it can’t be a crime, was my instant reply. That was how a normal phone conversation turned personal and emotional. My intention was to conclude today with some nuggets I have learned on fatherhood over the years, but all that changed with four ladies calling and raising the same issue – their inability to produce a male child.

    They were challenged to voice out their concern after reading what the lady in the public transport I quoted last said regarding male children; they said they can easily identify with her outburst. The lady whose story I’m about to recount is quite touching. She met her husband ten years ago in Port Harcourt before they relocated to Lagos when he got a well-paying job. She describes him as a “cosmopolitan gentleman” who has no room for some of our culture and belief system, even regarding male children.

    Their ten year marriage produced two girls; and given the penchant for a male child, she was worried and voiced her concern to her husband who always brushes it off. He was content with his girls and would do everything possible to ensure they get the best education. He invested on their behalf and has opened bank accounts with millions in there for them. But all this changed in December 2015 when they went home for the Christmas holiday.

    On getting back, she discovered her husband became distant and every conversation always ends with “I wish I had a male child.” As a result, she has been trying to get pregnant again with the hope she might have a male child – albeit unsuccessfully so far. He started keeping late nights and snaps easily; this is now affecting their daughters negatively.

    “I am prepared for the worst and won’t be surprised if he comes home one day and say he has a child with another woman,” she concludes. The discussion with the other ladies followed this trajectory, but not as detailed and emotional like the former. I encouraged the ladies to keep the faith with just one example from The Bible since they were all Christians – the story of the daughters of Zelophehad as recorded in the book of Numbers 27:1-11. This is one of my favourite stories because of the lessons therein. Readers who are not Christians should read on as there are lessons in leadership, faith and boldness to learn.

    Numbers 27 is the appeal of Zelophehad’s five daughters – Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah – to Moses in regard to their inheritance. Their father had died without any sons, and under the law of the time, his daughters were left without an inheritance. The commentators who go into this say that such an appeal was virtually unheard of because at that time a woman’s role in society was only slightly higher than a child’s.

    Moses – the Bible stated – does two very interesting things. He not only hears the appeal of these ladies, he humbly admits that he did not know the answer. He takes it to God, and God not only hears it, He gives the ladies more than what they asked for, as all they had asked for was the land. God says, in effect, “Not only can you have the land, but you have the right to pass it on just as if you were Zelophehad’s sons.” It came under their power completely.

    The point is that no leader under God can afford not to listen with fullest attention to the appeals of the lowly or to their counsel. He cannot afford to be in an attitude in which he will not listen to the people that he is supposed to be leading. It is a very important lesson and principle of law that comes out of Moses’ humility, meekness, and willingness to hear, whereas other leaders of his day would likely have not even allowed those women to come into their presence.

    Even though the Bible didn’t go into details, one can conjecture what happened that faithful day when these daring daughters caused a bloodless revolution and forced the Almighty God to rewrite the rules regarding inheritance. Would this have happened if the women were timid and accept all what was thrown at them without question? I doubt seriously if that were to be the case. Anytime I read that story I always picture the kind of man Zelophehad was; and better still his wife who was not even mentioned in the story.

    What even made these girls hope like they did? What made them think they ever had a chance to inherit this land? Everything looked against them. No one had ever contemplated a situation like this before. But something made them realise that there was at least a chance that, if they asked, they could have their inheritance. And they determined to ask. Now, what was it that made them hope like that? I hope that you read your Bibles with what has been called the gift of sanctified imagination. The Bible is intended to be read that way – that you fill in some of the details with a bit of imagination and yet guided by the lines that are set forth in the stories involved.

    Despite assumptions that relatives might have approached him to take another wife that will bear him a son, Zelophehad must have looked the other way and told his daughters that they were special even though they were not men. He must have taught them to be submissive to their husbands – as scripture teaches – and to be partners in training their children. He may have even sent them to the best Ivy League university in the land. He also must have taught them to speak against injustice when they see one; but thy must do this humbly and submissively with fact to back it up –which was what they eventually did.

    On the flip side, I praise and admire Moses for his foresight. Perhaps there were some hardliners who would have appealed to him not to ‘rock the boat’ by giving the women audience because they have no right to be anywhere near the tent of meeting in the first place. But not Moses, he was a leader to the core.

    There are only two cases in the life of Moses in which a woman came before him for either a judgment or in accusation. This was one of them, and the other one was his sister, Miriam. We know what happened to Miriam. It makes for an interesting contrast.

    Moses could have done several things.  He could have just ignored them and hope they went away.  He could have said that women had no right to speak at the tent of the meeting and sent them away.  He could have also said that women have no right to own property, after all women themselves are property, so how can property possibly own property, therefore they have no right to own appeal and sent them away.  Moses could have just taken the easy way out, and said that the law is the law and there is nothing which can be done about it and sent the women back to their tents.  Or, another option, which is the one he took, and really is the most shocking of the options, is to take the request seriously and to ask for a ruling on it, because what we really have here is a legal situation looking for some clarification.

    So Moses goes to God.  And God says that the daughters of Zelophehad are right in what they ask for and thus a new set of inheritance laws. Instructively, this land these women were asking for, they had never seen. In chapter 26, the Promised Land was being divided amongst the people. The generation that went before them were fearful about entering the Promised Land and as a consequence they all died in the wilderness and did not get to enter the Promised Land.

    But the daughters of Zelophehad were determined to enter and a new law gave them the right.

  • Five reasons for over eating

    Five reasons for over eating

    From time to time, many of us tend to consume more food than we need. Ever wondered why? Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 reasons why we overeat.

    You’re accustomed to overeating

    One of the major reasons a person might over eat is because they have become accustomed to it. Some people simply over eat out of habit. Thankfully habits can be broken and changed and scientifically it takes only 30 days to break them. Therefore, start forming some new and healthy eating habits.

    You’re Unaware of Your Calorie Intake

    Many people are not aware that they are consuming more calories than they burn and as a result over eat. Being aware of your food’s caloric content is one of the most effective ways to curb over eating and make your exercise attempts effective. In addition, it also helps you maintain a healthy eating lifestyle.

    You Find Food Comforting

    Often times, people eat not because they are hungry but to comfort themselves or make themselves feel better when tired, depressed etc. It’s important you try to avoid this as much as possible because it inevitably leads to over eating. Rather than eating a myriad of sweet and sugary foods to make yourself feel better, exercise or hang out with family or friends for comfort. These two actions help to significantly increase your mood as much as indulging in sweet sugary foods.

    You Eat Too Fast

    Slow down when eating. It takes about 20 minutes for the digestive system to report to the brain that you’re full and eating with lighting speed doesn’t help this process. Eating fast does not allow your brain react to the satiety signal coming from your body, and this leads you to believe you are still hungry when your body just needs some time to tell your brain that you are full.

    You Snack Frequently

    If you want to eat, eat real food. Try to avoid snacking and if you must snack, make sure you are physically hungry and that you ready to forfeit eating actual food for the snack (but ensure this isn’t done often). A lot of people tend to snack when they are not hungry or worse right after meals. Try to avoid the habit of eating snacks right after meals. Snacking in the absence of hunger can cause just as much weight gain as consuming high calorie foods or oversized portions.