Registered dietitian Fredericka Serwaa Doku has warned that unhealthy eating habits in Ghana are no longer merely a lifestyle concern but a growing public health threat with implications for productivity, longevity, and national development.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday (12 January) as part of the station’s Start the Year Right series, Ms Doku said poor nutrition is increasingly driving chronic diseases, fatigue, and reduced quality of life across all age groups.
“It’s no longer just about weight loss or aesthetics. It’s about survival, productivity, and quality of life,” she said.
She described Ghana’s current food environment as “broken,” citing widespread dependence on ultra-processed foods, high sugar and salt intake, irregular eating patterns, and declining home cooking due to work pressures and lifestyle changes.
Doku noted that the influx of ultra-processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages mirrors global trends but is particularly dangerous in Ghana, where nutrition education and policy enforcement remain weak.
She called for stronger national leadership on nutrition, urging that food and nutrition policies receive backing from the presidency to ensure enforcement across agriculture, food production, and public health sectors.
“Nutrition is the foundation of every nation. Our nutrition policies must be confirmed and upheld from the highest level if they are to carry weight,” she said.
Ms Doku also linked environmental degradation to food safety, warning that illegal mining, known locally as galamsey, is contaminating farmlands with heavy metals such as mercury.
“If we don’t deal decisively with galamsey, our food baskets will never be truly healthy,” she cautioned.
She urged Ghanaians to embrace the country’s food-based dietary guidelines, developed by the Ghana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and its partners, stressing that food should be viewed as medicine rather than convenience.
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