BENIN CITY – Mothers in Nigeria have been advised on exclusive breastfeeding of their babies in order to avoid metabolic diseases affecting their children during adulthood.

Professor Mathias Abiodun Emokpae who gave the advised while delivering a lecture titled “Childhood Malnutrition and Potential Risk Of Metabolic Diseases In Adulthood” at the September edition of the Institute of Child Health, University of Benin Monthly Seminar said micro nutrients are vital components of good nutrition.

Emokpae who added food nutrition is central to human development asserted that breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for most infants and it could help in reducing the risk for some short and long term health conditions for both infants and mothers.

He informed that the human body needs appropriate amount of nutrients to maintain healthy living and noted under-nutrition as one of the major health problems facing children globally.

“It is crucial to fight malnutrition during pregnancy period and in the first two years of life, I mean, 1000 days between conception and child second birthday.

“This period of child birth is very important as anything that happens here when nutrition is not adequate can make the child not to survive

The Professor of Clinical Chemistry called on goverment at different levels to establish framework that would enable the weak and vulnerable in the society to have easy access to healthcare facilities, maintaining that such would no doubt improves the people’s nutritional status.

He said: “What we are saying is that when we highlight the problems, policymakers and others should take it up from there because malnutrition has many causes and we can tackle it in diverse ways.

“It involves the goverment, policymakers, Community leaders, Doctors Teachers and Educators and if we educate that woman, make her not too over dependent on the home, that woman would know how to take care of that child very well.

“Some children that fat, or have pot belly is not because they are well nourished but it is nutritional deficiency that makes they look so. So, micro nutrients deficiency is a problem we all should tackle”, Prof. Emokpae advised.

Earlier in his welcome address, Director of the Institute, Dr. Damian Nwaneri commended the participants for availing themselves for the lecture which he described as apt.

He said that the Institute of Child Health, University of Benin is concerned with training services and research, adding that the training is formal, informal, capacity building as well as public enlightenment programme.

The Director disclosed that the events was parts of the Institute’s resolves to be giving quality health education to the public through its Monthly Seminars.