At least 8.4% of women in Uganda aged between 15 and 49 years are obese according to the Uganda Demographic Health Survey (UDHS) report of 2022.
This percentage translates into approximately 1.4 million women given that females within that age bracket are 16 million. There are about 23.6 million females in Uganda. Men who are obese, according to the report, are 1.5% of 22 million males, translating into 330,000 men.
Uganda’s total population is estimated to be 45 million.
According to the World Health Organization, obesity is a chronic complex disease defined by excessive fat deposits that can impair health.
The diagnosis of overweight and obesity is made by measuring people’s weight and height and by calculating the body mass index (BMI): weight (kg)/height² (m²).
For an adult to be called obese their BMI must be greater than or equal to 30.
Nutritionists attribute obesity to eating too much and moving too little. They argue that if someone consumes high amounts of energy, particularly fat and sugars, but they don’t burn off the energy through exercise and physical activity, much of the surplus energy will be stored by the body as fat
The survey, done after every six years by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, covers 14 sub regions of Uganda. It seeks to establish the key heath indicators and knowledge of health issues by the population.
How to combat obesity
- Limiting unhealthy foods (refined grains and sweets, potatoes, red meat, processed meat) and beverages (sugary drinks)
- Increasing physical activity
- Limiting television time, screen time, and other “sit time”
- Improving sleep
- Reducing stress