Ifeinwa Omesiete is a certified Pediatric nutritionist. He is on a mission to save African children from malnutrition and hunger. He holds a B. Sc degree in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Minnesota in the United States and has more than five years of cognate interdisciplinary experience spanning Africa and North America. He is the founder of Nutrition4Kids Lagos, where he helps provide effective feeding techniques and assists parents with curial information for proper child development. Omesiete is also a certified child psychology enthusiast with a certificate from CAPA International Education in London. In this interview with IJEOMA THOMAS-ODIAshe shares her passion for making sure children are fed healthy food.
You are an advocate for child nutrition, how did you find this passion?
Honestly, I think this profession chose me. I intend to become a pediatrician before college. In my third year, I realized that I did not qualify for medical school and its requirements. However, I still wanted to work in a clinical setting, so I tried further. I love food and the variety it offers and I also love working with children because I believe to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases, we need to preserve the lives of the next generation. If you put the two together – Clinical Nutrition is a perfect fit. I found a huge gap between clinical nutrition for children and what they do. I wanted to fill that gap and that’s when the Kid Nutritionist brand was born.
As a certified nutritionist, what do you think is the key to your child’s nutrition?
For me, it’s mindset, creativity and simplicity. Having the right mindset about food and its power to heal and restore is key, especially for children. You see, children eat for development and growth while adults eat for survival. So every meal option for them is either delaying progress or helping. The right thought about the role of food is very powerful. When I think of creativity, I think of a child who is full of energy, curious and always changing his mind. Being creative with the way we serve food helps ensure they are always hooked and encouraged to eat better. I tell my patients that one type of food can be prepared in 10 ways; you just need to know how. Unfortunately, there is not enough data on Nigerian children compared to other parts of the world. My job is to translate data from other countries and relate it to the average Nigerian. This is very important because with data collection and interpretation, many families and children will never know how blessed Nigeria is in terms of food and medicine capabilities. The simpler the information, the more people understand it, the easier it is to implement it in their own lives.
You are on a mission to save African children from malnutrition and hunger, how did you achieve this?
During my undergraduate degree, I conducted a research study that examined the effects of vegetable consumption on the academic performance of 200 young children. The study showed that young children who were exposed to vegetables at home ate more and did better in school. The study also showed that young children ate more vegetables when they ate with their peers. These findings confirmed my desire to return to Nigeria and educate parents on practical ways to encourage healthy eating in children. In 2019, I founded the first pediatric Nutrition Challenge in Nigeria. This quarterly online program provides materials with different learning styles (visual, audio, written and practical) that change the minds of parents about the importance of feeding healthy homemade food to children. One of the goals of the Challenge is to encourage parents to cook and serve different foods from all over Nigeria (from the meal plans they create) regardless of career, religion, socio-economic status or ethnic background. This program is unique in that the meals are designed to meet the recommended dietary needs of children.
What are some common cases or problems with child nutrition that you have dealt with?
I think every year it changes. In 2018, I found myself dealing with patients who were underweight and malnourished, while over time it was the opposite. About 40 percent of my workload is obese children between the ages of three and 17 who are obese and have comorbidities like hypertension and diabetes. Unfortunately, this has a lot to do with the trend of ‘weight gain’ formulas, foods and potions aimed at parents who want their children to stay fat to show their prosperity or lack of suffering. In addition, I have many patients with developmental disorders like autism, speech delay and others. It’s sad but not surprising because the world we know is definitely not as safe as it used to be when we were kids.
What activities do you do to achieve your goals?
I believe what helped me the most in achieving my goals was my network and collaboration. I have been able to influence over 17,000 people through my social media platform, my work at a hospital in Lagos and my two businesses. My second business Nutrition4kidsng has benefited a lot from my business network in Nigeria that specializes in children’s dietary needs. What makes this network unique is that all raw materials are natural and locally sourced in Nigeria; thus making the product accessible and affordable. For example, middle-class parents see my posts on Instagram discussing how cow’s milk is not the only source of calcium. The parent linked to this post and is interested in other sources of calcium but doesn’t know where to get it. Using my network, I can refer parents to businesses that provide natural foods that contain enough calcium appropriate for their child’s age. Nutrition4kidsng is a web platform that connects organized children-focused businesses with customers without the burden of middlemen or excessive fees, which increase the cost of products.
In your experience working with mothers, what challenges have you encountered?
I think the biggest challenge is consistency. Many families have parents who work and spend less time at home. Many mothers are aware of their shortcomings when it comes to raising healthy children. However, even with realization, many cannot remain consistent. They give up easily and struggle knowing that being a parent is a lot of work and work needs to be done. This understanding has made me change my approach to how I counsel patients. I spend more time following up, teaching and reminding parents of the end goal. I also make sure that I provide myself with all the tools and resources I need so that I don’t find reasons to give up easily.
What advice do you have for young women like yourself to pursue their dreams and become a better version of themselves?
Be consistent with integrity. All I want is to know the real you and stick to it. In the world we live in today many people are on the fence and fall wherever the wind blows. To build a strong brand that people can trust, you must prove that you are competent, consistent and full of integrity. Always speak the truth and state the facts regardless of public opinion or not. Another piece of advice I would give is to know your job and know your limits. If I could go back in time I would spend more time developing my skills instead of too much work and self-development at the same time. Don’t get me wrong; I love what I do and I am always involved in training and research but if you don’t spend time filling the cup, you will find yourself in a vicious cycle of pouring from empty places often.