YOUR HEALTH Former Caterer of Sierra Leone Food Talks About Obesity in the Black Community Posted by Davely Thompson on May 5, 2008, 00:50

Greasy fried chicken and a large order of crispy chips or piping hot jollof rice, tasty callalloo mixed with rice and steamed fish, the decision is not too difficult. However a large number of the black community are now gorging on fast food, which is contributing to 34.5% of ethnic minority females between the ages of 16-34 becoming obese, this is more than the 12.7% of European females who are obese.

Indulging in a little fast food on the odd occasion is not a crime that one should put their hands up for. It is quick and easy, and when you have finished eating you can just throw the paper box away having being feed and satisfied. However with major fast food restaurants such as KFC handing out portions of chicken up to 1,000 times a day, one can expect to be eating up to 450 calories whilst increasing their cholesterol levels by 145mg, all by just eating the hot wings. KFC chicken thigh (original recipe) contains 360 calories, 230grams of fat and an increase of 165mg to your cholesterol. Facts such as these are what are contributing to weight gain and the increase of obesity within the black community.

Obesity is a condition in which a person’s weight gain seriously endangers their health. It can result in serious medical problems, with the four most common conditions being heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and Osteoarthritis. Nevertheless fast food should not immediately be labeled as the only cause of obesity. Because as delicious as African and Caribbean dishes can be the ingredients in many of the recipes are high in fat which may explain the large number of obese individuals in the black community. In rice and peas alone the use of coconut oil is fattening, so eating this dish everyday is not the best for individuals who are trying to get healthy.
 

I asked Former Caterer of Sierra Leone food, Yvette Thompson, how she would attempt to keep famous African and Caribbean dishes healthier:

 What do you think are the main contributing ingredients in African food, which may cause weight gain?

“Oil, as Africans a lot of our dishes contains a lot of oil. Also, palm oil, even though the oil comes from the palm tree which is healthy, due to food industries trying to mass produce and make more money the palm oil is often mixed in with lard (animal fat). This is what makes the oil so unhealthy, but if a person can get pure palm oil that is fine.
We also eat a lot of red meat and often large amounts of rice, yams, plantin and fu-fu”.

 What advice could you give to people who want to continue to eat their traditional African dishes, but want them to be a little healthier?

“We need to cut down on the amount of frying and use of oil that we have. A lot of the meat and fish that goes into stews and soups are often fried, then added into fried onions and pepper’s which is more oil and tomato puree which contains oil. Instead of frying the meats like ox tail and beef, individuals should lightly boil them and leave the meat in the water over night. The next day all the fat will be at the top of the water and it is easy to scrape it off and throw it away. You will be surprised at how much fat is in the meat.
We should try to have more white meat like skinless chicken in our dishes because underneath the chicken skin contains a lot of fat. Instead of frying fish that is going into the stew it should be grilled or baked. This removes some of the oil in the fish, this is healthier. People should also try and cut down on the large portions of rice eaten.

 Do you feel that these changes will affect the taste of the dishes?

“For certain dishes the taste may change but only very slightly. But in my opinion I thing a persons health is more important than that extra teaspoon of oil or tomato puree.

 Can you give any advice for specific dishes?

”Cook more groundnut soup because the stew has no oil; lessen the amount of peanut butter that you put in it. For cassava leaves and spinach stews eat these once a week because most of the meats in these types of dishes are red. In cassava leaves you have: red meat, fish, ogiri (sesame seed ground into a paste) peanut butter, stock cubes, palm oil (optional), butter beans (optional). All these ingredients are oily so if you eat them every day that’s not good at all”.

“We can not cut off food completely but all in moderation. Let’s all try to eat a bit more fresh fish, chicken, which is grilled or backed and reduce the oil drastically! But I must admit that the black community is trying to eat a few more salads now and again.

The same tips can be applied to Caribbean dishes, as oil is a main fixture in fried chicken and fish. Why not opt for more soups like pumpkin soup and fish broth, all light dishes which still contain all the ingredients that we all like to sink our teeth into.”

However as useful as this information is, living a healthy life as well as eating will all contribute to a healthier individual. Statistics have shown that not only is it the calories that we have to address but also the lack of exercise done by individuals. In the ethnic circle only 1/3 of Pakistani females aged between 16-34 had done any moderate activity for 4 weeks. This was in comparison to the 16% European females and 8% European man who had done no activities. For many of us exercising is not always the easiest thing to do. With busy lives, the financial strains that may go into applying for gym membership and the stark reality that many individual s just hate exercising. But by taking brisk walks, slowly decreasing food portions and reducing the ingredients that are placed in dishes,  a slow but steady start will begin for the emergence of a healthy new you.