IS “50” THE NEW LIFE EXPECTANCY IN NOLLYWOOD.

The new death toll trending in Nollywood has recently sparked reactions that has triggered curiosity and fear among many who have been nursing the dream of becoming a Nollywood actor.

Is there a reason for the strange death happening within the walls of the industry?

The answer is yes and understanding the cause and effect gives a clear knowledge as to how to avert the new, trending fifty years life expectancy syndrome.

According to data published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in May 2016, Nigeria has one of the lowest life expectancy ratio in Africa and in the world; with 55 years for females and 54 years for males, placing it above eight other West African countries and 177th position in the world.

On average, life expectancy in Nigeria is 54.5 years.

Life expectancy is a measure of the length of life expected to be lived by an individual at birth. Experts calculate this length of life using base factors like health, education, sanitation, environmental management and sustainability, social safety and economic growth.

In a developing nation like Nigeria, where there are limited access to standard health facilities, the poor life expectancy indices are mainly health related issues, with underlying cases being heart diseases, diabetes, pneumonia, kidney problems, cancers, malaria, among others.

Majority of these conditions could be prevented, managed or treated effectively but ignorance and illiteracy has led to the demise of Nollywood celebrities at the peak of their careers. They’re nonchalant about those habits that help improve life, and thereby falling victim to sudden death.

Taking these routines seriously could help improve the quality of life expectancy.

Exercise

Entertainers don’t only entertain their viewers alone, they take time off to give life a treat and thereafter, they shove the fun under feet to face the next production, and because of busy shooting schedule, they forget to engage in routine exercise that is capable of helping to stabilize the body hormones and Ph value, improve bone density, and keep body mass index (BMI) in check. Regular exercise has proven to help stabilize the quality of health.

Working Excessive hours

Owing to tight shooting schedule outlined by greed ridden producers, actors defy the ergonomic of work, by accepting to work longer hours that extend into the nights. No time to rest, relax brain cells and maintain body balance. They become prone to cellular breakdown, develop underlying diseases which they continually manage till they’re finally blown leading to sudden death. Maintaining proper time management, safety work practices and work scheduling can significantly boycott the aftermath.

Lifestyle choices

For actors, unwholesome lifestyle choices contribute to most underlying health challenges capable of lowering life expectancy. Addictions like smoking, drug abuse, excessive intake of alcohol and food, caffeine abuse, etc These choices readily militates against the body’s defense mechanism, thereby resulting in underlying health challenges that eventually leads to death. It is imperative that actors adopt healthy lifestyle choices, so as to improve life expectancy regardless of the national ratio as forecasted by experts.

Blood Pressure and Sugar Level

There is no doubt that Ignorance kills. Not making daily and regular checks on blood pressure and sugar level makes you prone to recurring sickness and diseases. When there is an underlying blood pressure and sugar issue, prior knowledge, medical history, regular checks, has proven to avert major unexpected crises.

Rest

The man-made, bottle neck, shooting schedule has deprived most Nollywood actors from taking adequate rest. Rest is a natural serum that helps recuperate from stress and regulate body balance. Constant movement from one shooting location to another, driving long distances or flying between states stresses the body a lot. A lot of rest is expected to balance the body in order to accommodate future workload, but rather than compensating the body with adequate rest, actors replace their rest time with longer shooting hours, with no iota of rest. Long resting hours help recuperate the body, renews it cells, and reduces stress.

Conclusively, regardless of the factors that militates against low life expectancy in a struggling nation like Nigeria, Nollywood actors need to make good healthy choices, like exercise, avoid addiction like smoking, excessive alcohol intake, regular body checks, rest, and properly manage their time effectively. All these have a greater chance of defying experts’ low life expectancy threshold of fifty to a glorious age of retirement.

By Okechukwu Obi