Health Essentials
Sick food environment: Poor diets fuelling the rise of NCDs in Ghana
WHEN Dorcas reaches for a chilled bottle of her favourite soft drink after lunch, she rarely considers its long-term effects on her health. For the 29-year-old secretary in Accra, the sweetness is comforting. The tiny print on the label—numbers, percentages and scientific terms—feels too distant to warrant concern.
“I take these drinks because they are less expensive compared to natural fruit juice. They are easy to get. Sometimes the drinks paired with a bun, buff loaf, cookies or biscuits serve as a full meal,” she says.
Nutrition experts, however, warn that a single 300ml bottle of soda can contain as many as nine cubes of sugar, almost twice the recommended daily limit.
“Even when you dilute it, the sugar content doesn’t reduce. Your tongue may not taste it, but your body absorbs every gram,” says Harriett Nuamah Agyemang, Country Director of SEND Ghana, which is leading advocacy for Front-of-Pack Labelling (FOPL) to help consumers make healthier choices.
Rising consumption and growing risk
Professor Richmond Nii Okai Aryeetey, a Public Health Nutrition Expert at the University of Ghana, says a recent study shows that one-third of Ghanaian adolescents consume sugary drinks at least once a day.
“Before the end of 2025, Ghana has already purchased almost US$1.3 billion worth of sugar-sweetened beverages. There is not enough data, but we know enough to see that consumption is high and rising, especially among the youth,” he indicates.
According to the Ghana Living Standards Survey, households spend nearly three per cent of their income—about GH¢2,200 annually—on sugary drinks.
Prof. Aryeetey says diets dominated by sugar, salt and fat, common in Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs), are driving increases in hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.
“Ultra-processing takes food to another level. You combine ingredients that are intensely refined, and add industrial formulations, colours, flavours, sweeteners, that never appear in home cooking,” he explains. He identifies doughnuts, pizza, ketchup, burgers, and fizzy drinks as common UPFs.
The numbers behind the burden
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including stroke, heart disease, diabetes and cancers, account for 48 per cent of all deaths in Ghana.
In 2019, the age-standardised mortality rate for major NCDs stood at 750 per 100,000 males and 563 per 100,000 females. Projections indicate that by 2034, nearly 41 per cent of all deaths could be linked to complications from four major NCDs: stroke, heart attack, heart failure and chronic kidney disease, largely driven by unhealthy diets.
Ghana Health Service (GHS) data shows that in 2024 alone, more than 584,000 people were diagnosed with hypertension and nearly 200,000 with diabetes. In the first half of 2025, a further 255,000 hypertension cases and 88,000 diabetes cases were recorded.
Public health experts describe this as evidence of a “sick food environment”, where consumers are surrounded by cheap, aggressively marketed products high in salt, fat and sugar.
Convenience foods and changing lifestyles
From instant noodles and tomato paste to packaged snacks and fizzy drinks, UPFs have become staples in homes, schools, and workplaces.
Ms Agyemang links the trend to changing lifestyles.
“People spend hours in traffic and get home late. They go for the quick options canned, instant or fried. But the long-term cost to their health is enormous,” she says.
Ghana’s current labelling regulations require nutritional information to be placed on the back of packages, often in fine print that many consumers struggle to interpret.
“Even educated consumers struggle with it. For the ordinary person, it’s even more confusing,” she adds.
Front-of-Pack Labeling
Several countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Mexico and Chile, have adopted Front-of-Pack Labelling, using simple symbols or colours to indicate high levels of salt, sugar or fat.
The WHO says FOPL enables consumers to identify healthier options at a glance and encourages manufacturers to reformulate products in order to avoid warning labels.
“It doesn’t only guide shoppers. It forces companies to compete on health, not just price,” Ms Agyemang notes.
At Rawlings Park in Accra, food vendor, Asia Bintu, says she checks only expiry dates.
“I don’t understand the numbers and those tiny inscriptions. Canned foods are cheaper and easier to cook,” she says.
Advocates say such responses reflect low food literacy, underscoring the need for public education and regulation.
Health system under pressure
Maxwell Bisda Konla, Principal Dietician at the University of Ghana Hospital, says Ghana’s progress in improving national nutrition has slowed.
“Obesity, hypertension and other NCDs are rising at an alarming rate as Ghanaians shift from traditional fibre-rich foods to highly processed meals, sugary drinks and refined carbohydrates,” he says.
Heart disease, kidney failure, and liver complications now feature prominently in mortality data.
He calls for stronger policies to limit the importation and marketing of unhealthy foods while promoting local alternatives such as brown rice, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
Schools as a focal point
Labram Musah, National Coordinator of the Ghana NCD Alliance, says schools are critical to reversing current trends.
“Children are increasingly exposed to unhealthy diets, especially in urban areas. What they eat in schools shapes their lifelong habits,” he says.
He advocates regulation of foods sold in and around schools, and the introduction of practical nutrition education, including school gardens and healthy meal plans.
“It’s not enough to tell children what to eat. We must make healthy options available and affordable. Imagine if every school had a small garden, it would change how children think about food.”
Mr Musah also urges the integration of FOPL into Ghana’s broader NCD prevention strategy, alongside salt reduction, sugar taxes and restrictions on marketing UPFs to children.
Evidence from Africa
A randomised controlled trial in Kenya involving 2,198 shoppers found that FOPL significantly improved participants’ ability to identify sugar, salt and saturated fat in packaged foods and reduced intentions to buy unhealthy products, particularly when black warning labels were used.
A South African study similarly found that simplified Front-Of-Pack Labels were more effective than detailed back-of-pack tables in helping consumers identify unhealthy foods.
Prevention as priority
The WHO says clear labelling can drive product reformulation and reduce diet-related diseases over time.
“Reading a label could be the difference between good health and a lifetime of medication. If we don’t act now, we will keep spending millions treating preventable diseases,” Ms Agyemang warns.
For Ghana, a stronger focus on prevention could reduce pressure on health facilities already managing growing NCD caseloads.
Nutrition advocates say introducing Front-of-Pack Labelling would strengthen Ghana’s response to NCDs by making nutritional quality visible at the point of purchase and supporting healthier decision-making.
Advancing SDG Three
The rising burden of diet-related NCDs poses a significant challenge to achieving Sustainable Development Goal Three, which aims to reduce premature deaths from NCDs through prevention and treatment.
Improving Ghana’s food environment through clearer labelling, salt and sugar reduction policies and better access to affordable healthy foods is considered essential to meeting these targets.
By prioritising preventive nutrition policies and healthier diets, Ghana could reduce avoidable illness, ease pressure on the health system and advance efforts to ensure healthy lives and well-being for all.
-GNA
It feels like Christmas of last year was just a couple of weeks ago. The reality though is that we celebrated what is arguably the most adored season of the year well over 300 days ago.
Many of us put ourselves in tight corners, saddling our families with debt and avoidable hardships in the early weeks of the New Year.
Quite often we discuss what to do to improve our health and this is one of those days when discussing the things to avoid comes to the fore. If we can start these today, we will have a great Christmas season and open doors to a wonderful new year.
What should we avoid so that we will not drain our energy?
- Focusing on the past
- Not getting adequate sleep
- Not drinking enough water but loading yourself with alcohol, caffeine and energy drinks
- Spending all your time working and leaving no time to rest and socialize
- Not being physically active
- Spending all your time behind screens, TV, phone, computer. Making social media king
- Eating junk food most of the time
- Being resentful, negative or surrounding yourself with people who see no good in anything
- Creating clutter and a mess wherever you are
- Trying hard to impress others
The list is endless but if you find a way to avoid the above and tap into the ones below, you will be on a great path to a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful new year.
Do these for sure:
- Listen to great relaxing music; start your Christmas carols early even if no one else is playing them (but any other relaxing music will do. I believe in the power of Music Therapy)
- Spend time in nature and get some sunlight if you are lucky to be in a place where it’s in abundance
- Make time to rest and meditate (pray and read your Bible after all its Christ’s birthday)
- Move as often as possible and make time to do deep belly breathing
- Be positive
- Surround yourself with people who make you happy
- Get adequate sleep
- Eat healthy food as often as possible and drink a lot of water
- Be grateful for what you have
- Make sure you avoid clutter
I hope these tips will help you stay in the best state of your life and remember to continue doing these for the rest of your life. Does that sound too difficult?
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ Medics Clinic
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “WHERE YOU LIVE SHOULD NOT DETERMINE IF YOU LIVE.”- WHO
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Teenage Hypertension: The silent threat to Ghana’s young generation
For many Ghanaian teenagers, high blood pressure may seem like a health problem for their parents and grandparents. But as unhealthy eating habits, excess weight and increasingly sedentary lifestyles become concerns for younger populations, protecting heart health during adolescence deserves greater attention.
The danger is that hypertension can develop without obvious symptoms. A teenager may feel perfectly healthy while elevated blood pressure goes undetected, potentially delaying medical assessment and appropriate care.
Although not every teenager with unhealthy habits will develop hypertension, early awareness, healthy lifestyle choices and appropriate blood pressure checks can help reduce future cardiovascular risks.
A growing concern
Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, is a major public health concern worldwide. The World Health Organisation identifies it as an important contributor to premature death, largely because it increases the risk of serious cardiovascular complications.
While the condition is often associated with adulthood, the factors that contribute to its development can begin much earlier in life.
Frequent consumption of foods high in salt, poor dietary habits, excess body weight and insufficient physical activity can undermine cardiovascular health. Family history and certain underlying medical conditions may also increase an individual’s risk.
For teenagers, therefore, the conversation about hypertension should extend beyond hospital visits and include the everyday habits that shape their health.
When lifestyle choices become a concern
Adolescence is a period when young people begin making more independent decisions about what they eat, how they spend their leisure time and how physically active they are.
Convenience foods, processed meals, salty snacks and sugary drinks may become regular features of their diets. At the same time, long hours spent on mobile phones, computers and other digital devices can leave less time for physical activity.
Academic demands and inadequate sleep may further affect their general well-being.
These habits do not automatically lead to hypertension. However, when unhealthy diets and physical inactivity contribute to excess weight, they can increase the risk of high blood pressure, particularly among people with other predisposing factors.
Recognising these risks early offers families, schools and health professionals an opportunity to encourage healthier choices before unhealthy patterns become established.
What Ghana’s cardiovascular health figures reveal
A cardiologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Medical School, Professor Alfred Doku, in an interview highlighted the seriousness of cardiovascular disease in Ghana, citing figures indicating that it accounted for approximately 43 to 50 per cent of deaths in the country.
He also stated that about 30 per cent of Ghanaian adults had hypertension, with approximately 70 per cent of those affected unaware of their condition.
Although these figures concern adults and the wider population rather than teenagers specifically, they point to the importance of improving awareness, screening and early detection of high blood pressure.
Professor Doku urged people to know their blood pressure readings and monitor other important health indicators, including blood sugar, cholesterol levels and body weight.
His advice underscores the importance of understanding personal health risks rather than waiting for illness to become apparent before seeking medical attention.
For adolescents, any blood pressure reading that raises concern should be assessed by a qualified health professional. Because blood pressure varies with age, growth and other factors, its interpretation in children and teenagers requires appropriate clinical assessment.
The danger of a condition without obvious symptoms
The Head of the National Cardiothoracic Centre, Dr Kow Entsua-Mensah, also stressed the importance of awareness and early detection in addressing cardiovascular disease.
He explained that hypertension could remain undetected for years because affected individuals might not experience noticeable symptoms.
Dr Entsua-Mensah noted that several factors, including diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, tobacco use and harmful alcohol consumption, could contribute to cardiovascular damage over time.
He called for greater public awareness of the importance of checking blood pressure and other health indicators before complications develop.
The challenge with hypertension is that the absence of symptoms can create a false sense of security. People may assume they are healthy simply because they feel well, overlooking the need for preventive health checks.
Dr Entsua-Mensah emphasised that addressing cardiovascular disease required cooperation among healthcare professionals, government institutions, schools, businesses, community organisations and the media.
Such collaboration is particularly important for young people, whose health habits are influenced by their homes, schools, peer groups and the wider environment.
Small habits, lasting benefits
Professor Doku said many cases of heart disease and stroke could be prevented or their risks reduced through appropriate lifestyle changes and effective management of contributing factors.
He encouraged young people to reduce their salt intake, eat balanced meals, exercise regularly and avoid smoking.
Describing hypertension as a silent threat, he warned that people should not wait for symptoms before taking their blood pressure seriously.
Hypertension, he stressed, could have serious consequences, including heart failure and stroke, when left undetected or inadequately managed.
For teenagers, protecting heart health does not necessarily require complicated routines. It begins with practical, everyday decisions: eating a balanced diet, choosing foods with less salt, participating in regular physical activity and getting adequate sleep.
Avoiding tobacco products and maintaining a healthy weight are also important steps towards reducing cardiovascular risks.
Young people who are diagnosed with hypertension should follow the advice of their healthcare providers and take prescribed medication as directed. Lifestyle changes can support treatment, but they should not replace medication when it is medically necessary.
Parents have an important role to play by encouraging healthy eating and physical activity at home. Schools can contribute by providing opportunities for exercise, promoting health education and making nutritious food choices more accessible to students.
Healthcare professionals, meanwhile, can help identify young people who may be at risk, assess abnormal readings and guide families on appropriate follow-up care.
Protecting the next generation
Addressing hypertension among young people requires more than individual effort. It calls for a coordinated response involving families, schools, healthcare providers, policymakers and the media.
Public education should challenge the perception that high blood pressure is exclusively an older person’s condition. Teenagers need accurate information about cardiovascular health, the factors that increase their risk and the importance of seeking professional advice when necessary.
Appropriate screening and follow-up care can also help identify elevated blood pressure and ensure that young people who need medical attention receive it.
However, the extent of hypertension among Ghanaian teenagers should not be inferred from statistics relating to adults. Reliable, age-specific national data are needed to establish the scale of the problem and guide targeted interventions.
That evidence gap makes it important to approach the subject with both urgency and accuracy: raising awareness of the risks without exaggerating what is known about their prevalence among adolescents.
For Ghana’s young generation, the message is clear. Feeling healthy does not always mean that blood pressure is normal, and good cardiovascular health should not be left until adulthood.
By encouraging healthier habits, improving access to appropriate health checks and making reliable information available to young people, Ghana can take meaningful steps towards protecting the heart health of its next generation.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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