Lifestyle diseases push govt to take the lead in exercises

Dar es Salaam. The adage, ‘A run a day keeps cancer at bay’ will make sense in Tanzania this week when the government launches a national physical fitness campaign aimed at curbing the increasing rate of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cancer, diabetes and heart complications.

This coming Saturday, Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to lead Dar es Salaam residents at the Leaders Club in a physical fitness drive that will commence at 6:30 am and end at 10:30 am, The Citizen is informed.

Inspired by the theme: ‘Afya Yako Mtaji Wako’, loosely translated ‘Your Health is your Wealth’, the Vice President will team up with officials from the Health ministry, dressed in sports wear at the event to encourage Tanzanians to cultivate the habit of regular exercise for their own health.

Cases of NCDs have been on the rise worldwide over the last two decades, and data suggests a gloomy trend going forward, unless strong national responses are implemented.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), NCDs kill 38 million people globally each year.

The lack of physical exercise, tobacco smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol and unhealthy diets are among the high risk factors of NCDs in Tanzania and elsewhere across the globe.

Scientists have published various studies proving how physical exercise —whether heavy or light, can “fight off” cancer, one of the most serious NCDs in Tanzania.

Local medical specialists, such as Dr Heri Tungaraza, an oncologist at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), agree with the findings.

Dr Tungaraza says that there are cases of individuals who died of natural causes, but their bodies were found to have harboured cancer cells that never got the chance to affect them.

“After tracing the cause of death, it was found that such people undertook regular physical exercises to the extent of suppressing the cancer cells,’’ says the cancer specialist at MNH.

“There is convincing evidence suggesting that some people who died of natural causes had cancerous cells in their bodies which never advanced to cause sicknesses or the death of that individual,’’ he says.

“This suggests that there are scenarios where cancer is contained by the body’s natural immunity and prevented from advancing,’’ he explains, but points out that the scientific findings have been proven in animals and further studies were required for human beings.

Currently, there is substantial evidence that ties physical exercise to low risk factors for colon, breast and prostate cancer.

Other studies show how heart diseases and diabetes could be tamed through exercising regularly.

For cancer, Dr Tungaraza notes that as a general rule,“If exercise makes our immunity stronger it could prevent cancer from growing into an aggressive disease.”

Researchers from the Swedish Cancer Society and the Swedish Research Council have gone further to carry out experiments among young men and came up with similar conclusions.

In their study, published in the Plos One Journal three years ago, titled, ‘Effect of Acute Exercise on Prostate Cancer Cell Growth,’ it was proved how blood samples drawn from individuals who had undergone physical exercises for a 60 minute session “fought off” prostate cancer cells in the laboratory.

In their recommendation, they encouraged simple exercises in an effort to tame prostate cancer, saying, “Despite the fear of possible detrimental effects of acute exercise, we have shown that even short-term effects seem to add to the overall beneficial influence of exercise.”

The rise of the NCDs prompted the government to come up with the National Strategy for non-communicable diseases (2011-2015), however, targets seemed to have gone off track as communities remained less involved in the strategy.

Health minister Ummy Mwalimu told The Citizen that the move by the government to launch the national physical fitness campaign this year, is partly aimed at ensuring that Tanzanians get the right information on the role of regular physical exercise and its impact on their health.

At various forums, public health stakeholders have raised concerns about the lack of awareness on NCDs among the general population in Tanzania and warned of the country having a health care system that lacked the capacity to adequately address NCDs.

The minister told The Citizen at the weekend that the government has awakened to the situation and wants to actively involve the public.

On her own initiative the minister has started releasing posters on social media platforms, calling on people to join the campaign and was upbeat that the campaign would be a success.

“We (the government) will ensure that people across the country are well-informed about why it matters for them to do physical exercises on a regular basis,’’ she said.

Overall NCDs are expensive to treat. In Tanzania, researchers are yet to carry out studies showing the economic benefits of preventing the diseases through physical exercises. In western countries where NCDs were known to cause a huge economic impact, such as the United States, studies have been carried out.

Staying fit not only adds years to your life, but also plenty of dollars to your wallet, says a new study published three months ago in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The researchers did a survey on 26,000 Americans over the age of 18. After accounting for people who were unable to exercise regularly, such as expectant mothers, and people who were underweight, they found a consistent pattern in terms of costs for medical bills.

According to the findings, people who said they met the recommended criteria for moderate to vigorous exercise on a weekly basis on average paid less in medical expenses annually than those who did not.

The findings revealed that physically active people paid around $2,500 less in medical costs compared to their counterparts who worked out less.

The theme: ‘Your Health is Your Wealth,’ is expected to inspire the launch of the physical fitness campaign this Saturday partly calls on everyone to realise the economic impact of preventing NCDs.

And, for Tanzania, a country where the health system is already burdened with infectious diseases; NCDs come as a double-burden that calls for urgent intervention.