By News Desk
Worried by Nigerians increase in the intake of drugs and herbal solutions to slimdown, Prof. Isaac Adegun of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ilorin, has warned against over against the act, stressing that slimming of body and tummy protrusion beyond certain limit could further destroy the heart.
Adegun argued that human body was designed to be elliptical in shape which is important for heat transfer and human thermal comfort.
Adegun gave the warning during his paper presentation at the 193rd Inaugural Lecture of the University of Ilorin’s 193rd inaugural lecture themed “God the creator, Man the manipulator: the journey so far in Engineering manipulation of fluids and geometries for human life’.
According to him, it is therefore not appropriate enough to model human body as circular cylinder as it is being assumed by some researchers.
“For good heat transfer, the thickness of human tummy should be almost half the width of the chest, anything greater than that can lead to thermal discomfort of the body.
“Also the more collapsed the tummy beyond aspect ratio of 0.5, the more the friction created by the walls through which the fluids flow in the body system, and therefore, the more the load on the heart which is the mechanical pump in man.
“For those interested in body slimming, they should be conscious of the danger inherent in over slimming so as not to create another problem,” he warned.
The expert advised that for thermal comfort, effective performance at work, long life and good health, the ratio of tummy size to chest width should be between 0.4 and 0.7.
Adegun, while reiterating that human body was designed by God as elliptical in system and should not be altered, advised people to be mindful of what they ate and drank and what they did because that could unduly and unnecessary protrude the tummy.
He also advised that for good thermal comfort and long lifespan people should judiciously use fluid around and make sure it was not polluted.
“We should be measuring our tummy-chest (T-C) ratio regularly and see the medical practitioners or those in human kinetics for appropriate counselling, particularly when ratio T-C is 0.50.
