Registered dietician, Emmanuella Yayra Saku, says the intake of processed foods, sugary drinks, large portions and alcoholic beverages are the major reasons for dietary obesity and overweight.

She explained that the high prevalence of processed foods and sugary drinks on the Ghanaian market have directly contributed to the surging obesity rates in the country.

In a recent Ghana Health Demographic Survey, it was discovered that about 50% of all women surveyed with either obese or overweight.

According to Ms. Saku, the unchecked consumption of these obesity-causing foods may have worse outcomes in the near future.

“One of the things I have observed is that there is an increased rate of the intake of processed foods. So with our diets and then lifestyle here in Ghana…we eat a lot of processed foods. The issue with these foods is that most of them come with high calories.

“And high calories, I mean, the energy that the food gives you is very high. And then Doc mentioned one of the causes of obesity being an increased rate of physical inactivity. If you’re eating a lot of energy and then you’re not expending it you’re going to be gaining weight.

"So if you’re doing foods high in fats and sugars and you’re not exercising to burn out the calories you’re getting from these foods then, of course, we would have a lot of incidence of overweight and obesity,” she said.

She noted that drinking too much sugary drinks is no different.

This in particular she says puts both children and adults alike in danger of becoming obese.

“We’re not saying these drinks are bad, but then when we are not putting caution to how much we’re drinking of course we’re going to be getting a lot of calories from these drinks. Sugar is a carbohydrate, carbohydrates give us a good amount of calories.

“So if you’re drinking a lot of these drinks and you’re getting a lot of calories which we may not be burning through physical activity and so you get overweight or obese,” she explained.

People who tend to eat large portions of meals are also at risk of becoming overweight and obese.

“So Doc usually says when he comes on Drive Time on Wednesday evenings, he says when you look at people’s bowl of fufu then you’re wondering if is it one person’s meal or two people’s meal. You’ll be surprised to know that a very large bowl of meal is for one person.

“If you’re eating a large portion of food then the likelihood of you getting a lot of calories from that food is high. If you don’t burn it out you’d gain weight.”

While the causes of obesity listed above are well known, the dietician revealed that alcoholic drinks also have the potential to make one obese.

“Another one that we usually don’t pay attention to that is a major cause of obesity is drinking too many alcoholic drinks. Alcoholic drinks would usually come with some sweetening and these sweetening will usually give us some amount of calories.

“So while you’re drinking your alcoholic drink, you should have at the back of your mind that you’re getting some calories from that drink,” she said.

She urged Ghanaians to increase their daily exercise activities to help them burn more calories to avoid becoming overweight.

She also urged Ghanaians to watch their diets to avoid large carbohydrate intake among others.