EFFECT OF VIOLENT TELEVISION PROGRAMME “WRESTLING” ON YOUTHS IN UYO

EFFECT OF VIOLENT TELEVISION PROGRAMME “WRESTLING” ON YOUTHS IN UYO 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Problem

The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension issues is growing rapidly in Nigeria and the world at large. It is given as estimate that over 41 million Nigerians are hypertensive and over 12 million Nigerians have diabetes according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 2008. This figure is expected to increase overtime hence, most worrisome is the fact that, 40% of these affected people do not know they have the disease owing to their level of ignorance and or illiteracy. Diabetes and hypertension are chronic disease. Diabetes is primary describe as a group of metabolic disease in which a person has a high blood sugar or glucose (hyperglycemia) that produce the systems of frequent urination, increased thirst, and increased hunger, giving rise to the risk of damaging tiny blood vessel.

On the other hand, hypertension is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated. Normal blood pressure at rest within the range of 100-14mmHg systolic (top reading) and 60-90mmHg diastolic(bottom reading). Therefore, high blood pressure is said to be present if it is often at or above 140/99Hg and could also be diabetes in terms of high and low sugar levels. Diabetes and hypertension are leading cause of death worldwide, while the number has increased significantly in the last decade. It is associated with reduced life expectancy, significant morbidity and diminished quality of life these cardiovascular condition In Nigeria and the problem of defining strategy for their control and prevention confronts the society at the present time. Again, the overall risk of premature death is twice as high among individual with diabetic than for those without diabetes (WHO, 2008).

According to Beranan Yudkin (2006) the increasing number of people with typed two diabetes (insulin resistance) is a worldwide concern, and the number of adults with diabetes in the world will increase to 383 million in the 2025, more than 75% of the people with diabetes will reside in developing countries, as compared to 62% in 1995 (King et al. 1998). It has been noted that one in every 20 adult deaths in developing countries is diabetes related; Levite (2008)added that, 246 million people worldwide are currently diabetic.

Diabetes/hypertension and its complications impose significant economic consequence on individuals, families, health system and countries in general. As this threat is growing and so do people, families and communities afflicted. This growing threat is under-appreciated because of poverty and has hindered the economic development of many countries (WHO,2009). Consequently, newspapershave become a major source of health related information for the general public. This information has the potential to influence the public believe about the  presence identification or knowledge and seventy of diseases as well as the provision and use of health services. Thus, the newspaper medium is an important source of health risk communication. The burden is therefore on journalists and editors to explain clearly the methodologies in a manner that facilitates a better understanding of the associated risk by the readership. Such a venture requires both translated of complex technical information into a common sense language that could be understood by the general newspaper readership and comprehension.