By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
A university lecturer and medical expert, Professor Chituru Orluwene, has advised citizens of Rivers State and Nigerians at large to take their health seriously.
Prof. Orluwene, who is the Provost, the College of Medical Sciences, Rivers State University, also warned them not to allow their health to deteriorate before seeking medical attention, by which time it could be too late to save the situation.
He said these while delivering the 91st inaugural lecture of the Rivers State University with the theme, Metabesity: Living in Death, Slow Suicide, on Wednesday.
During the lecture, which was attended by the Rivers State Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, RSU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Nlerum Okogbule, and other principal officers of the institution, Prof. Orlunwene emphasized the essence of maintaining healthy lifestyles as the best way to prevent sicknesses.
He also stressed the need for physical education in schools to encourage regular exercise and called on the government to invest more in the health sector by providing more life-enhancement facilities.
Prof. Orlunwene later told journalists that the focus of the lecture was to encourage more of a preventive approach to health matters than a curative one.
“We want Nigerians to know that in medicine now, we should be emphasizing preventive rather than curative medicine.
“Metabesity is a disease entity that can be prevented and so we shouldn’t wait to allow the comorbidities of metabolite overwhelm us before we now go for treatment. Most times those treatments don’t come out successful.
“But if we prevent it by simple exercise, lifestyle modification measures like dietary regulation, we’ll be able to prevent these diseases and visit the hospital less often,” he explained.
