11.2m Nigerians battle diabetes as stakeholders seek safer sugar cuts

… NIFST, ISA call for science-based food reformulation, stronger local research By Chioma Obinna With an estimated 11.2 million Nigerians living with diabetes, food scientists and industry stakeholders have called for science-based measures to reduce sugar consumption without compromising food safety, quality or consumer choice. The stakeholders, under the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, NIFST, and the International Sweeteners Association, ISA, also urged the Federal Government to strengthen local research, harmonise food additive regulations with global standards and improve public understanding of low- and no-calorie sweeteners. President of NIFST, Dr Bola Osinowo, who spoke at a two-day stakeholders’ conference on “Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners in Nigeria: The Science and Safety,” said Nigeria was facing a severe rise in diet-related non-communicable diseases, particularly type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Osinowo said clinical data indicated that between six million and 11.2 million Nigerian adults were living with diabetes, describing the disease as a major economic burden on households and the health system. According to him, the average Nigerian living with diabetes could spend between N20,000 and more than N150,000 monthly on insulin, blood glucose monitoring and clinical care. He said the challenge was compounded by a shortage of specialists, with fewer than 200 physician endocrinologists practising in the country.

Osinowo said: “We cannot discuss the future of food formulation in Nigeria without addressing our current national public health and economic realities. “Nigeria is currently witnessing a severe rise in diet-related non-communicable diseases, most importantly type 2 diabetes and obesity.” He explained that as manufacturers increasingly turned to low- and no-calorie sweeteners, LNCS, to reduce sugar in foods and beverages, Nigeria needed a regulatory and scientific framework capable of supporting the transition. The NIFST president said approved LNCS had undergone decades of safety assessments by international bodies, including the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, JECFA, and the European Food Safety Authority, EFSA.

He added that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, had established the Food Additives Regulations 2021 and Non-Nutritive Sweeteners in Food Products Regulati…