President John Dramani Mahama has cautioned Ghanaians against the habit of eating heavy meals late at night, saying it could contribute to poor health outcomes, particularly non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

He made the remarks on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, during the launch of the Free Primary Healthcare Initiative, where he highlighted changing lifestyles and dietary patterns as key drivers of rising NCD cases.

Speaking in a light-hearted tone, the president urged people to reconsider late-night eating habits and to adopt earlier dinner times.

“Stop eating banku at night,” he said, drawing laughter from the audience, before advising that dinner should ideally be taken earlier in the evening.

He described a common routine in which people return from work late and consume heavy meals just before sleeping.

“If you are the kind of person who likes eating heavy foods, you are not physically active, you are sitting at one place, and yet when they give you your fufu or banku, you say it's too small. You want a big bowl of fufu, and you want to eat it every day,” he said.

“Sometimes you eat it at night before you go to sleep. Please, by 7 PM, eat your dinner and don’t eat again. If you are hungry, just pick a cup of tea or something. Don’t eat any heavy food. You come from work in the evening, your wife is tired, but you force her to come and get you banku at 10 PM, why?” he added.

President Mahama also contrasted current sedentary lifestyles with earlier generations, noting that past diets were often balanced with physically demanding work such as farming.

“Our fathers used to eat banku and co in the night, but they were physically active; they used to go to the farm, and they expended energy. Now we don’t do any physical activity. You wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, drive to work, sit behind the desk from 8 am to 5 pm, drive back home, and when you come home, you ask for your banku. What physical activity did you do to deserve banku?” he said.

The remarks were part of a broader appeal for lifestyle changes under the Free Primary Healthcare Initiative, which prioritises public education on preventing NCDs.