The Eden Lifestyle Presents seminar at Social Media Week Lagos this morning.
They made this known at the Eden Lifestyle Presents: Bridging the Gap Between Doctor and Patient Using Technology session held at the Lagos e-learning centre.
Experts on the panel included Dr Pascale Anglade, a consultant gastroenterologist and hepatologist, Sherese Ijewere, a nutritional consultant, Dr Nkiruka Orajiaka, a health product advisor, and Dr Pamela Jackson-Ajayi, managing director of Pathcare.
Dr Jackson-Ajayi spoke extensively on the need for individuals to know their basic numbers such as Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure, blood glucose and lipids including good and bad cholesterol.
She said simple tools are available online to aid in data computation and interpretation, with one example being Pathcare's website.
The panel highlighted the side effects of habits such as alcoholism and smoking. According to Anglade, smoking increases the risk of cancer while alcohol has harmful effects on the body system.