EMBRACING HEALTH &

WELLBEING THROUGH
LIFESTYLE MEDICINE
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DR (MRS) OBIANMA ONYA

Chief Consultant Family Physician Board Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician

& DCMAC, UPTH
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 GLOBAL PREVALENCE OF LIFESTYLE-
RELATED DISEASES
Diabetes mellitus- 463 million
(9.3%); 1.7% in Nigeria
Obesity -39% of adults-overweight and
13% obesity & 18% of children; In
Nigeria, 21million(20.3%)-overweight;
12 million (11.6%)- obesity
CHD -0.07%
Dyslipidaemia- 39%
Osteoarthritis- 15%; 50% of those>50yrs
39%
Hypertension 33-%; 38.1% in
Nigeria
CVD- 33%; prevalence not
established in Nigeria.
PVD - 0.05%
Metabolic syndrome-25%
Osteoporosis- 20% of women >40yrs
Depression -10-15%
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“The doctor of the future will give no

medicine but will interest his patients in
the care of the human frame, in diet and
in the cause and prevention of disease”

Thomas Edison
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 TAKE MORE:
• Fruits & vegetables
• Whole grains (oats, millet, wheat, brown rice)
• Legumes (lentils, beans)
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Herbs
• Home cooked food
• Unsaturated fats (found in fish, avocado and nuts, and in sunflower,
soybean, canola and olive oils) are preferable to saturated fats (found in
fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese,
• Foods with lowest caloric intake (whole vegetables, whole fruits, whole
grains, legumes, spices, herbs, low fat dairy)
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 AVOID z

 Sugary beverages & free sugars ((Free sugars are all sugars added to
foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, as well as
sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice
concentrates).

 High cholesterol, saturated fats & trans fats (animal products, snacks,
processed foods)

 Processed grains (white flour, white rice, white pasta)

 Animal products especially processed and red meat

 Excess salt intake (usually commercially prepared)

 Foods with highest caloric content (fats, oils, processed meats,

confections)
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 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, EXERCISE & FITNESS
Physical activity: Any body movement done through
contraction of skeletal muscles that causes energy
expenditure to be beyond baseline
Exercise is purposeful physical activity that
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, is planned, coordinated and recurring,
EXERCISE & FITNESS carried out to improve one or more
components of health.

Physical fitness is the ability to perform daily

ordinary activities as well as respond to
emergencies and enjoy leisure activities safely
and effectively without excess fatigue.
BENEFITS OF EXERCISE

Reduces risk
of DM-2 Reduces risk of
Reduces CVA Cancers-colon,
risks breast,
endometrial,
lungs,

Reduces
Arthritis pain
Lowers blood
and
pressure
associated
disability

Helps
Benefits
maintain
weight
of Reduces risk
of falls
Exercise
BENEFITS OF EXERCISE

Strengthens
bones and
Elevate mood muscles Increases the
and improve chances of
mental health living longer

Reduces
Improves
symptoms of
sexual
depression
performance
and anxiety

Reduces risk
Benefits
Improves
of
osteoporosis
of quality of life
Exercise
 COMPONENTS OF EXERCISE

• Aerobics: The rhythmic movement of muscles for a sustained

period.
• Strength/resistance training: exercise activities that entail the
contraction of muscles against external resistance so as to
increase lean body mass, muscle strength and endurance.
• Flexibility: Movement along the range of motion at a joint that is
specific to each joint and depends on the flexibity of the
ligaments, tendons and muscle tightness.
• Balance: Static & dynamic exercises; improve ability to withstand
destabilizing stimuli or postural sway from self-motion, external
objects or the environment
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 WHAT IS STRESS?
 A process/event/outcome in which environmental/psychological
(emotional)/biological demands (stressors) strain an individual’s capacity to adapt
resulting in both psychological & biological changes that could predispose him to
disease
 Can lead to NCDs (T2DM, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Diseases, Depression, Anxietydrug abuse,
marital/financial problems, poor productivity

 It inhibits the ability to follow healthy lifestyle practices (maladaptive stress coping mechanisms including
unhealthy food choices, alcohol abuse, smoking, lack of exercise, poor sleep,, poor social connections)

Evergreen Lifestyle Medicine & Wellness

www.eglmwc.com.ng obianmaonya@yahoo.co.
Centre
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STRESS MANAGEMENT
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S

STRESS MANAGEMENT:
 STRESS CAUSES CHRONIC SYMPATHETIC

ACTIVATION
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HAPPINESS, Positive psychology and
social connectedness

 POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY:

 The study of strengths & virtues that allow individuals

& communities to thrive. It does not minimize misery
but rather focuses on amplifying happiness through
positive affect & individual strengths & virtues.

 Positive affect is contentment with the past,

happiness in the present & hope for the future.
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HAPPINESS, Positive psychology and
social connectedness CTD.

 CONNECTIVITY:

 Is the quality, state or capability of being connected.

Social connectivity decreases stress & anxiety by
activating the parasympathetic nervous system unlike
stress which activates the sympathetic nervous
system.

 It is associated with longevity.

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SLEEP AS A PILLAR OF HEALTHY
LIFESTYLE
DEFINITION OF SLEEP

 A naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or

absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory
activity of nearly all voluntary muscles.

 Distinguished from wakefulness by a decreased ability

to react to stimuli

 Distinguished from coma- a state of unconsciousness

from which one cannot be aroused
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LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION FOR COMMON
SLEEP DISORDERS: Sleep Prescription ctd.
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LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION FOR COMMON
SLEEP DISORDERS: Sleep Prescription ctd.
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ALCOHOL AND SMOKING
CESSATION

 Alcohol Use Disorder and Nicotine addiction are

the 2 most common harmful substances implicated in
most chronic disease conditions.
 Therefore, behavioural modification aimed at reducing or outright
cessation of their use is of paramount importance.
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ALCOHOL USE DISORDER-
CONSEQUENCES

 Poor sleep
 Brain function: depression, anxiety and panic attacks.
 Confusion and dementia
 Cancer
 Heart disease
 About 33 percent of suicides in the under 35s are due to
alcohol or other substance misuse.
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ALCOHOL USE DISORDER-
CONSEQUENCES CTD.

 Diabetes mellitus, obesity and dyslipidaemia

 Alcoholic liver disease/cancer, alcoholic lung disease,

nephrolithiasis, pancreatitis, gout, osteoporosis, skin disorders,
stress,

 foetal alcohol syndrome

 sexual dysfunction
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SMOKING CESSATION

CIGARETTE SMOKING:
▫ Cigarettes consist of nicotine, tar and carbon
monoxide.
▫ Nicotine is a drug equivalent to cocaine and heroin.

It alters the brain and a person's mood.

▫ Tar is a substance that damages the lungs.

▫ Carbon monoxide is a gas which is poisonous.

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CONSEQUENCES OF SMOKING
HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH SMOKING

 Responsible for 40% of all deaths from cancer and 21% of all deaths
from cardiovascular disease.

 Almost 10% of all deaths due to smoking, are secondary to second hand
smoke.

 Cancers: lung, oesophagus, larynx, pancreas, uterine, ovarian, bladder,

kidney, colon, rectum, leukemia.

 COPD

 Cardiovascular disease

 Others: DM, insomnia, depression, wrinkles, dementia, cataracts,

low birth weight.
WHAT IS WORK-LIFE BALANCE
 A State of Equilibrium between the demands of an individual’s job and
personal life & involves prioritization of time & effort in & outside of
work with the aim of actualizing career goals along with life goals
(Health, Leisure, Spiritual, Family) while preventing stress, injury &
burnout.

 It is not just about finding physical time for leisure (and other activities)
but more importantly about finding “Cognitive Space” especially in an
environment where work has become more fluid, technical and
intellectual often competing with the tasking cognitive demands of
modern existence

Evergreen Lifestyle Medicine & Wellness

obianmaonya@yahoo.co.uk
Centre
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THE DIFFERENCE IS INDEED
CLEAR!
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