After Gen Z mobile phones and weight lifting chat last week, I received positive emails enquiring about the big belly issue, specifically; “Kitambi. Vitambi,” plural, in KiSwahili.
During the 1960s and 70s, ‘kitambi’ owned a millionaire’s badge. Most famous idioms used were “public opinion” (political leaders) and Bwana Mapesa (Mr Money). Across Africa, kitambi was wealth, power, high status. New wives were praised when husbands, suddenly ballooned shortly after marriage.
“Lucky chap,” everyone agreed: “Juliana feeding my son, well,”mothers beamed. It was generally “very attractive” to females.
Fast forward 60 years later.
According to a future projection by OECD (global Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), by 2050 the world shall experience 92 million deaths from obesity related illnesses: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, certain cancers, gout, etc,
Last month, fellow Arusha News columnist, Dr Mark Bura, highlighted the importance of gut health. “From tummy troubles to trouble concentrating”-screamed his title, advising: “A diet low in fibre may reduce the number of helpful bacteria and allow less desirable microbes to flourish. This imbalance can contribute to bloating, constipation and inflammation.”
WE ARE WHAT WE EAT!
Most of us skip breakfast, muffling a hurried lunch until dinner time. No salads, no fruits and having filled ourselves up, slump on sofas and mats, watching TV, and straight to bed. Eating heavy starchy meals and sleeping immediately after is one of (if not the) MAIN cause of obesity and massive stomachs. When we are sleeping our bodies are busy digesting the loaded cuisine; consequently, we wake up tired; with no appetite. No wonder we miss breakfast. It should be the other way round. Eat less at night. Or not at all, after 8pm.
An old English saying recommends: “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like prince and dinner like a pauper”- that way food does not SIT in your belly to a small mountain that was considered a status symbol, seven decades ago.
Next to eating late or wrongly is not exercising as we concluded last week.
Anatomical studies explain that ‘kitambi’, is a mixture of (visceral and subcutaneous) fat encircling internal organs and rotten faeces in the colon (large intestine). “Visceral” is thin and deeper, while “subcutaneous” visible; that can be pinched.
