Health Essentials
Is there a prescription to reverse aging? Final Part
The functions of the lung begin to reduce at age 30
By your 30th birthday, your lungs will probably have hit high gear to the land of reduced function. This includes even those who never smoke or inhale secondhand smoke as well as those who have never come into contact with mosquito coils or car exhaust fumes.
This reduced function means you find it difficult to breathe during activities that require exertion – exercise, dancing and climbing are just a few of them.
What to do
Certainly avoiding toxins such as cigarette is important but so is learning to breathe properly. Vitamin D, which is abundant in areas with sunlight, is great for the lungs and so is vitamin A from carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes and many others. So next time you are out walking in the sun, tell your friends you are improving your lungs and bones.
The muscle
We may lose about 11kg of muscle between age 24 and 50 and then about one percent of muscle mass each year after the half-century mark, unless we do something about it.
The worst aspect is we replace this lost muscle with fat of equal weight. Fat of the same weight as muscle is bigger and more “deformed”. This explains why when we do not arrest this trend, we tend to weigh the same on the scale yet we are unable to fit into our clothes. Aha! That beer-belly that has been haunting us.
What to do
So even for those who do not take pride in huge biceps, it may be a good idea to start lifting some weights, not only will it protect you from extreme muscle loss and fat gain, you may actually gain muscle, protect your bones, improve your metabolism and even your mood. “Lift” for long good-byes to gloomy days.
The bones
From your 24th birthday to about two whole years before your golden jubilee, the supportive material in bones of men shrinks by almost 30 percent. Scary if you consider that this may even be higher in females.
Around age 65, the bones begin to shed more of the mineral building blocks that make them strong, causing even faster degeneration. So you understand why a harmless fall or lifting your grandchild could cause you to break a bone.
What to do
Weight-bearing exercises such as walking and lifting weights help to strengthen bones. Some of us may need calcium supplements-ladies! And we can gain mileage from our food such as yoghurt, milk and other dairy products, dark leafy greens such as kontomire and certainly good old sunlight.
So age after all may just be a number but only if you do the necessary things to prevent you from falling apart.
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
dressel@healthessentialsgh.com
*Dr. Essel is a medical doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle medicine, he holds an MBA and is 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 –“A sedentary lifestyle – spending a lot of time seated at a desk, in a car, or in front of a television or computer monitor – increases your risk of death from heart”
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials
Revival Outreach Church donates food items, others to Street Academy
The Revival Outreach Church in La on Friday presented food items to the Street Academy in Accra.
The gesture was to support the academy to take care of the underprivileged children and help in the organisation of an Easter picnic for the children on Easter Monday.
The items worth over Gh₵27,000 include rice, sugar, maize, tin fish, gari, toiletries, clothes and many others.
Led by Rev. Prof. Abednego Okoe Amartey, immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) said the gesture was to put smiles on the faces of the children and also encourage the staff of the Academy for the good work.
He said the presentation has been an annual thing and believes it has come to stay.
According to him, it was important for other churches and organisations to join the effort to keep these children off the street and be trained in their areas of interest.
Rev. Emmanuel Amuzu who presented the items commended the staff and management of the Academy for the good work it was doing to giving the children a bright future.
He said the items were not meant for the children alone, adding that, “part of it would go to the teachers who train these children. That should serve as an incentive to them.”
He lauded the vision of the Academy Director, Ataa Lartey and urged more organisations to offer similar support.
“What the Academy is doing is massive. These are children who on regular days would roam the streets and grow up becoming social deviants. Parents should try to be more responsible taking care of their wards.
“However, traditionally when a child is born, his or her development and upbringing becomes the responsibility of the society. It is the reason we, as a church, would continually support the academy to keep these children to get the training to be responsible adults,” he explained.
The Director of the Academy, Ataa Lartey thanked the leadership and members of the church for the presentation which he said would go a long way to ease the burden on them.
By Spectator Reporter
Health Essentials
‘Every birth counts’: The critical need to improve emergency maternal care in Ghana
Imagine a young woman in labour, her heart racing, her unborn child in distress. She arrives at a district hospital — tired, scared, and in need of immediate care. What happens next determines whether she lives, whether her baby survives — and whether another Ghanaian family is shattered by a preventable loss.
A recent study in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region is shedding new light on the realities of emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) in Ghana. The findings are sobering — but they also reveal a clear path forward.
Why this matters now
Despite progress in maternal health, far too many Ghanaian women are still dying from childbirth-related complications. Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio is estimated at 308 per 100,000 live births — nearly 20 times higher than the average in high-income countries.
“We know what the problems are, and we know how to solve them,” says Dr Reuben Esena, one of the study authors. “The question is: are we willing to invest where it matters most — in women’s lives?”
What the study found
The research, published in the International Journal of Science Academic Research, evaluated three key hospitals — St. Martins Catholic Hospital, Atua Government Hospital, and Akuse Government Hospital — which serve a population of over 108,000 in Lower Manya Krobo.
The study reviewed 271 cases of obstetric complications and found that the most common were:
– Foetal distress (18 per cent)
– Complications from previous C-sections (13 per cent)
– Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia (8 per cent)
– Cephalopelvic disproportion and breech deliveries (7 per cent)
These complications are not rare, nor are they unpredictable. Most are entirely preventable or manageable — with timely intervention and well-equipped facilities.
A mixed picture: Progress and gaps
The good news? All three hospitals provide round-the-clock EmONC services, staffed by midwives, medical officers, and anaesthetists. Life-saving drugs like oxytocin and magnesium sulfate are widely available. Caesarean sections and manual placenta removal are routinely performed when needed.
The bad news? None of the facilities had an infant laryngoscope — essential for newborn resuscitation. Only one had ergometrine to control bleeding after childbirth. And not a single case utilised assisted vaginal delivery — even where it might have been appropriate.
In some cases, multiple complications overlapped, such as foetal distress plus severe pre-eclampsia. For a woman in that situation, every minute counts. Every delay risks two lives — or more.
Who’s Most at Risk?
Women aged 25–29 years had the highest number of complications — a reminder that even “prime age” pregnancies can be dangerous without the right support. But adolescents and women over 40 faced some of the most severe risks, including eclampsia, foetal death, and difficult labour.
“Our younger girls, especially those between 15–19 years, are particularly vulnerable,” the study noted. “They come late to the hospital, sometimes after trying traditional remedies at home. By the time they arrive, it’s often too late.”
A national crisis demands national response
The maternal health challenges in Lower Manya Krobo reflect a broader national reality. Many districts across Ghana lack the full complement of staff, drugs, and equipment required for quality EmONC services.
But the solutions are not out of reach.
So what must we do?
1. Invest in life¬-saving supplies and training: Every hospital handling deliveries should be equipped with the full range of emergency tools — including items as simple, but critical, as an infant laryngoscope or ergometrine injection.
2. Improve documentation and digital health systems: Accurate records allow clinicians to track complications and adjust care accordingly. Ghana’s shift to digital health must prioritise maternal health systems.
3. Decentralise comprehensive EmONC: More health centres and CHPS compounds need capacity to offer basic EmONC. Complications don’t wait for referrals — care must be accessible at the first point of contact.
4. Promote community education: Women and families must be educated on the importance of antenatal care, early referrals, and hospital deliveries, especially in rural areas where myths and delays still cost lives.
Every woman deserves a safe birth
This study is more than data — it’s a call to action. Behind every statistic is a mother, a child, a family. Ghana has the knowledge, the workforce, and the policy framework to make maternal death a thing of the past.
What remains is commitment — not just in funding, but in leadership, in community involvement, and in valuing every single life.
As the researchers conclude: “Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care is not a privilege. It is a right — and one that Ghana must deliver.”
By Henry Okorie Ugorji
