Entertainers at risk - Lifestyle makes many prone to health issues

While we enjoy the high-energy performances of our preferred entertainers, it takes a lot to keep going year after year in a business infamous for long hours, high stress and partying. This is the first in a three-part series in which The Sunday Gleaner looks at how those in the entertainment business take care - or do not take care - of their health, and also assist others in staying healthy by making charitable donations to the health sector.

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

In spite of increases in chronic illnesses in the general population, local entertainers are yet to take their health seriously enough.

According to recording artiste and medical doctor Dr Garth 'Shaka Pow' McDonald, many entertainers are not as serious about their health as they should be.

"A part of the whole entertainment thing is the public image and socialising in the party. They consume a lot of alcohol," he said, noting that many entertainers also smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke on a regular basis.

Apart from the high alcoholic intake, he said the diets of these artistes vary. Generally, he said, they try not to consume many fatty foods and their fitness is of great importance, especially as it relates to performances.

On the sexual side, he said, based on "[male] entertainers presumed sexual prowess, they will be at considerably increased risk of being exposed to STIs [sexually transmitted infections]. It then comes down to one's personal lifestyle and how one protects oneself."

And with many of the more popular entertainers ageing, he said there are concerns about other chronic illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes. Over time, with the high consumption of alcohol, he said, some persons might develop cirrhosis, which is an abnormal liver condition in which there is irreversible scarring of the organ.

Another issue entertainers have to contend with is stress. This is based on the competitive nature of the industry and the wear and tear involved, McDonald said.

Statistic from the Economic and Social
Survey Jamaica 2012 revealed that the total number of visits
to public-health centres for the period January to September 2012 was
1,265,228 compared with 1,420,218 for the corresponding period in
2011.

"The leading six causes of visits remained the
same with hypertension being the leading cause. Hypertension and
diseases of the respiratory tract were the two major chronic diseases
among the top-10 visits for curative services. The total number of
visits for hypertension (151, 820) represents an 18.5 per cent increase
over 2011 (128 184)," the report said.

In addition to
hypertension, the other leading causes of visits include diseases of the
respiratory tract, skin disease, genito-urinary diseases (including
STDs), musculoskeletal, and psychiatry.

In an article,
'Chronic lifestyle diseases costing billions', published in
The Gleaner in September 2012, Benjamin Waysome, who
was the National Health Fund's acting chief executive officer, said a
review of statistics from the agency's individual benefits programme
shows that, on average, each member enrolled is treated for about three
separate chronic illnesses.

"Among these, hypertension
is the most common, followed by arthritis, high cholesterol, and
diabetes," he said, noting that in 2005, 65 per cent of diabetics
enrolled with the NHF had other conditions. He warned in 2011, that
number has increased to 79 per cent, which is a worrying
trend.

The statistics are worrying and as such
McDonald said artistes and musicians need to pay special attention to
their health.

But sadly, this is not the
case.

"From my experience, they tend to come for
attention when a problem exists. I strongly implore them to get regular
medical check-ups," he said, adding that this is also a problem with the
general population.

This is the case for Future
Fambo, who admitted that he does not do regular
check-ups.

"I will do a check up if my knee swell up. I
don't have high blood pressure, don't have anything, just a little
arthritis in my knee," he told The Sunday Gleaner,
noting that he also broke his leg a week ago while performing at a show
in Queens, New York.

Known for songs like
Drunken Dance and I'm Drinking
(featuring Beenie Man), Fambo noted that the songs are not
just songs, but his lifestyle.

"It is a lifestyle. The
dressing, the swagger, the lifestyle, the partying. I am just an
overall entertainer," he said.

Healthy
lifestyle

However, "it depends, I don't just get up
and drink like that, mainly when I go out. But, I will drink a beer in
the day and when I hit the street, I drink like Ciroc and Hennessey,"
added Fambo, who plans to release his album The Future Is
Now next year.

Female artiste Stacious can
attest to a relatively healthy lifestyle, having lost 40 pounds through a
one-year diet and exercise programme that started in July
2011.

Although health is important to her, she said,
"I think most of us focus on the look of it. We are driven by the fact
that we want to look good. I mostly think about maintaining the right
weight because of the look."

Stacious says her fitness
regime includes working out five times per week and she tries to limit
her calorie intake.

The Jamaica Survey of
Living Conditions 2010 revealed that only 19.5 per cent of
respondents reported having health insurance, and Stacious is one of the
many who does not have any.

"If mi haffi go doctor,
mi just spend the money and go. I really don't get sick that often,
thank God," she said.

Elephant Man, on the other hand,
says he has health insurance, as "mi know how important it a guh be
down the line".

He continued, "me is a man weh tek my
health thing serious. At the same time, wi fit".

He
said he exercises everyday, eats lots of vegetables and drinks a lot of
water. But where Elephant Man slacks off is with his sexual practices,
as he claims that he has 25 babymothers.

"It might
seem nuff. You start out with condoms, but in the end it stop. Mi a
behave miself ya now," he said, laughing.

Look out for
the next instalment in the Healthy Beats series where there will be a
focus on entertainers and musicians who are coping with or have had
major illnesses.