In my struggle to gain weight

My struggle begun some day in 2015 when I fell sick and on seeking treatment, the doctor said I was too light for my height. Courtesy photo

What you need to know:

  • Many articles often emphasise weight loss and very few actually talk about gaining weight. For a long time, Aisha Nansamba, a social worker has wanted to gain more weight, to no avail writes Beatrice Nakibuuka.
  • Underweight pregnant women usually become anemic and get pregnancy related complications. They may give birth to under weight babies or if the baby is normal, they are likely to deliver by the C-section.
  • "My struggle begun some day in 2015 when I fell sick and on seeking treatment, the doctor said I was too light for my height. He wanted to give a dose for children because for my height (163cm) I weighed only 40 kilos at 23 years.

“My struggle begun some day in 2015 when I fell sick and on seeking treatment, the doctor said I was too light for my height. He wanted to give me a dose for children because for my height (163cm) I weighed only 40 kilos at 23 years. The doctor said being underweight increased my risk of being over or under dosed because I was an adult,” she recalls.

She adds that, “I was always stressed about finding a job, never felt hungry and did not actually get the urge to eat food. I used to skip meals especially breakfast and fed on snacks throughout the day.”
Dr Vincent Bakyenga, a general practional at Uganda Health Federation says, “Conditions such as stress, sickle cell disease, Anorexia nervosa; an eating disorder where a person has no appetite for food can prevent one from gaining weight.

Getting the target weight
With some tips from the doctor, Nansamba had to increase her metabolic rate by doing some physical exercises so that she would feel hungry, increased the amount of food she ate and gradually she was able to gain some weight.

She says, “It takes a lot of patience but now I am about 58kg. I started cooking my own meals so that I get a balanced diet. I ate more frequently and made breakfast a must do thing for me.”
Bakyenga says “More men than women seek for weight gaining tips often but a person may seek to gain or lose weight depending on the Body Mass Index (BMI).

BMI is the measure of the body fat based on weight and height among adults. It is calculated as (weight squared in kilograms divided by height in Metres. The ideal BMI of a normal person should be between 19.5 to 25square kg/m.

“Gaining weight is a gradual process which cannot happen in one day. It is best advisable among youth but if a person turns 40, it is not advisable because the body cells do not grow at this age,” Dr Bakyenga explains.

Eating a balanced diet is recommendable and the food pyramid with more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates then less fats and oils. Dr Bakyenga advises that the proportion of food should be heaviest for breakfast, heavier for lunch and less for supper.

Dos of gaining weight
Eat dried fruits, lean meat, fish, milk, eggs, millet, oats, avocados, peanut butter, cashew nuts, peanuts, water melon seeds, noodles, pumpkin seeds, coconuts etc.
Vegetable oils are better than animal oils. Canola, Olive oil and Coconut oil are a safe option

Don’ts
Do not take a lot of high sugar foods like alcohol and sodas.

Why you need to gain weight?
People with a low weight are likely to have organ failure because most of your body organs do not have enough energy to keep them functioning properly. It is associated with low energy problems and a weak immune system.

“A low weight person is likely to suffer anemia and other mal nutritional diseases and dosing for such people is very difficult for physicians because they prescribe to them doses that are meant for children which may take long to work out for them.”
Underweight pregnant women usually become anemic and get pregnancy related complications. They may give birth to under weight babies or if the baby is normal, they are likely to deliver by the C-section.