‘Watching too much TV, heavy coffee drinking, loneliness, others increase early death risk’

WHO puts Nigerians’ life expectancy at 54 

SCIENTISTS have identified 13 modern-day lifestyles that are increasing the risk of premature death.

   Top on the list are: Sitting for long hours at work; watching too much television (TV); heavy consumption of coffee; loneliness or remaining unmarried; early retirement; prolonged air pollution; taking afternoon nap; constant arguing; poor dental hygiene/ not brushing your teeth; abuse of common painkillers; mental illness; heavy smoking and drinking; and growing patronage for processed red meat products and sugary drinks.

    According to the World Health Statistics 2014 published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigerians have an average life expectancy of 54 years. Life expectancy is the number of years lived in good health. So dying at any point before 54 years could be considered a premature death. 

    Although death is a necessary end, medical experts say life span can be extended.

   Indeed, scientists have found that increasing physical activity reduces the risk of early death, and even improves the quality of life and survival rate in persons with degenerative diseases.

   According to the latest research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, adults who watch TV for three hours or more each day may double their risk of premature death compared to those who watch less.

    The study’s lead author and professor and chair of the Department of Public Health at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez, said: “Television viewing is a major sedentary behaviour and there is an increasing trend toward all types of sedentary behaviours. Our findings are consistent with a range of previous studies where time spent watching television was linked to mortality.”

    Researchers assessed 13,284 young and healthy Spanish university graduates (average age 37, 60 per cent women) to determine the association between three types of sedentary behaviours and risk of death from all causes: television viewing time, computer time and driving time. The participants were followed for a median 8.2 years. Researchers reported 97 deaths, with 19 deaths from cardiovascular causes, 46 from cancer and 32 from other causes.

   The risk of death was twofold higher for participants who reported watching three or more hours of TV a day compared to those watching one or less hours. This twofold higher risk was also apparent after accounting for a wide array of other variables related to a higher risk of death.

   Researchers found no significant association between the time spent using a computer or driving and higher risk of premature death from all causes.      

   Researchers said further studies are needed to confirm what effects may exist between computer use and driving on death rates, and to determine the biological mechanisms explaining these associations.

       Also, another new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that sitting for long stretches of time increases the odds of an untimely death. The more hours women in the study spent sitting at work, driving, lying on the couch watching TV, or engaged in other leisurely pursuits, the greater their odds of dying early from all causes, including heart disease and cancer.

    Also, scientists have found that adults who sleep for an hour or more in the day increased the chances of premature death by almost a third.

   The biggest risks appear to be associated with lung diseases, such as bronchitis, emphysema and pneumonia.

    Adults who nap every day are up to two-and-a-half times more likely to die from respiratory illnesses than those who don’t.

   Researchers said that this could be because napping triggers inflammation in the body.

       However, the findings, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, also suggested that dozing during the day could be a signal that the person already has lung disease.

   Experts at Cambridge tracked more than 16,000 British men and women over 13 years.

  They studied adults who, in the late nineties, signed up to a major research project investigating the effects of diet and lifestyle on cancer. 

   As part of the project, volunteers gave details of their sleeping habits – including whether they took a nap in the day.

   Researchers then followed them up for 13 years and recorded the number of deaths – just over 3,000 – and what caused them.

    When they matched mortality rates with sleeping habits, they found the risk of death increased slightly by about 14 per cent in people who dozed less than an hour in the day.

    But if their naps lasted more than an hour, the risks increased by 32 per cent. When they looked at causes of death, they found the chances of dying from a respiratory illness more than doubled if naps lasted over an hour.

   But the report added: “It remains plausible that napping might be an early sign of system disregulation and a marker of future health problems.”

   Last year, a study in China – where taking a post-lunch snooze is very popular – found napping for more than 30 minutes at a time raised the chances of developing type two diabetes.

   But scientists could not be sure that it wasn’t hidden diabetes that made people sleep, rather than napping triggering the disease. 

   However, other studies have suggested a quick doze may slash the risk of heart attacks and strokes by more than a third.

    Also, a new research published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings has found that drinking four cups of coffee a day could lead to numerous health problems and an increased mortality risk.

   Researchers from the United States (U.S.) conducted an analysis on the link between coffee consumption and causes of death, using data from the Aerobic Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS), the National Death Index, and by assessing death certificates.

   Around 45,000 men and women between 20 and 87 years of age participated in the study between 1979 and 1998.

    All participants were asked to complete a medical questionnaire disclosing lifestyle habits, including their coffee consumption, as well as personal and family medical history.

   The study subjects were monitored over an average 17-year period from the first evaluation up until their death, or until December 31, 2003.

   During this time, there were 2,512 deaths, with 32 per cent of these caused by cardiovascular disease.

   Researchers say four cups of coffee a day may lead to a 50 per cent higher mortality risk

New auto policy won’t increase cost of vehicles — FG

THE Federal Government yesterday said contrary to reports, the new vehicle import tariff which commenced on July 1, did not impose a flat tariff of 70 per cent duty on all imported used cars, saying the new policy would not lead to increase in cost of vehicles in the country.

This came as ports operators under the aegis of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, threatened to shut port activities should the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, go ahead with the implementation of the new auto policy.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, who gave this clarification while briefing state House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting explained that companies involved in the local vehicle manufacturing or assembly programme would pay 35 per cent duty on cars they imported to bridge any gap in local demand.

According to him, “I briefed council today on a misleading article in one of the newspapers on Tuesday on the auto policy and we thought it necessary to communicate and correct it. The article has claimed that the duty on used cars is now 70 per cent from yesterday, (Tuesday). That is incorrect. It is 35 per cent. It has also claimed that all used cars coming into the country will attract a duty of 70 per cent. That again is incorrect.

“Those in the car assembly programme will be able to import cars to meet the gap, when you look at production and the demand in the country. They will be able to import those cars at 35 per cent, not 70 per cent. It is only for those who are putting a strain on our foreign reserves, who have no intention of creating jobs in the country, who want to continue to remain traders, that the 70 per cent duty applies to. This is to discourage trading, to encourage local assembly, job creation and unnecessary pressure on our foreign reserves. So, it’s an economic issue and deliberately so.”

Mr Aganga also assured that the new automotive policy would not lead to an increase in the prices of cars in the country, saying manufacturing and assembly companies and some major car distributors and importers had undertaken not to increase prices.

However, issuing the threat in Lagos, National President of ANLCA, Prince Olayiwola Shittu at an expanded National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the association said the association had been meeting with a sister association; National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, to ensure total withdrawal of services.The two associations also plan a joint position on the issue.

ANLCA also accused the Federal Government of abandoning the Apapa-Oshodi expressway as well as the roads leading to Onne Port in Rivers State, where the government generates billions of Naira as revenue, lamenting that it lost two of its members on the bad roads leading to the ports.

Shittu explained that failure of government to address members’ concerns would lead to a total collapse of port activities, claiming the association already had the backing of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, and the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO).

According to him, “Anytime customs implements the 35% levy, we will start a series of protests and placard-carrying that will eventually lead to the withdrawal of service. Many vehicles are now going through the un-approved routes and this is affecting the economy of our members. We have a right to protect the interest of Nigerian shippers more than the interest of government because, government does not care about us. We have been asking them for one per cent based on revenue generated, but they have asked us to collect our money from importers.

“The government has deliberately ignored the roads leading to Apapa, Tin Can and Onne ports. The ports are already closing themselves; now if you want to go to Apapa port you might not get there today. Yet the terminal operators and shipping companies are benefiting from this. At the end of the day people turn around to say agents are delaying cargo clearance. All roads to the ports where government is making billions per day are bad; they don’t care about them, not even to put palliative measures.”