Half of Kampala women obese or overweight, KCCA warns of health risks
A nutritionist shows how to prepare vegetables in Kampala on April 16, 2025, during the vegetable consumption campaign launch by GAIN. PHOTO/TONNY ABET
What you need to know:
- While in Kampala men 18 years and above, the UDHS findings for 2016 indicated that it was at 16.3 percent but this increased to 17.3 percent in 2022. For Obesity in the same gender and age group, the prevalence declined from 3.7 percent in 2016 to 3.27 percent in 2022.
Half of Kampala's women and one-fifth of its men are now classified as overweight or obese, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) warned on Wednesday, as authorities and partners launched a fresh campaign to tackle the mounting public-health challenge.
"Fifty percent of women in Kampala are either obese or overweight, and that is a fact scientifically proven through assessments," said Martha Nakyagaba, KCCA's Nutrition Focal Person.
"Twenty percent of men face the same issue, and childhood obesity rates have doubled in the past five years," she explained.
Speaking at the unveiling of the "Vegetables for All" initiative and the "Beera Mama Owakabi" campaign, funded by the Netherlands and coordinated by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Nakyagaba highlighted the link between poor diets and rising cases of heart disease, hypertension, and certain cancers.
"Most Kampala residents are of working age, so we must address what we eat at our workplaces. We need policies that promote healthy meals in offices, factories and markets," she said.
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KCCA, in their Kampala Capital City-Nutrition
Action Plan (KCC-NAP) 2023/2024-2029/2030, provided the breakdown of nutrition trends in the city as captured in the Uganda Demographic and Health Surveys (UDHS) for 2016 and 2022.
In the 2016 UDHS findings, the prevalence of overweight among Kampala women 18 years and above was 26.5 percent while in 2022, it had increased to 30.6 percent.
For obesity in Kampala women 18 years and above, the UDHS findings for 2016 indicated a prevalence of 17.1 percent but this increased to 19.2 percent in 2022. The 30.6 percent of overweight and 19.2 percent of obesity add up to 50 percent. This is consistent with what the UDHS report contains when our reporter checked.
While in Kampala men 18 years and above, the UDHS findings for 2016 indicated that it was at 16.3 percent but this increased to 17.3 percent in 2022. For Obesity in the same gender and age group, the prevalence declined from 3.7 percent in 2016 to 3.27 percent in 2022.
Alex Bambona, Assistant Commissioner for Food and Nutrition Security at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, noted that the average Ugandan consumes just 45 grams of vegetables daily, which is well below the 200 grams recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
"The best way to reduce calorie intake is to fill your stomach with bulk-vegetables provide fibre and essential micronutrients with minimal energy," Bambona advised.
He cautioned that while urban centres struggle with obesity, rural areas continue to battle stunting and under-nutrition due to erratic food supply.
GAIN Country Director Enock Musinguzi urged a market-based approach, partnering with supermarkets, farmers' groups and food vendors.
"The private sector is the engine of food-system transformation. We must work together to make vegetables affordable and accessible," he said.
Martha Nakyagaba, the KCCA Nutrition Focal Person, interacts with GAIN Country Director Enock Musinguzi during the unveiling of the Vegetables for All initiative in Kampala on April 16, 2025. PHOTO/TONNY ABET
Uganda now confronts a "triple burden" of malnutrition: persistent under-nutrition, hunger in vulnerable communities and an alarming rise in overweight and obesity fuelling non-communicable diseases.
Health experts say, "This mixed challenge threatens the nation's economic productivity and resilience."
To broaden impact, KCCA plans to roll out nutrition education in schools, enforce healthier meal standards at public institutions and launch media campaigns on balanced diets. Nakyagaba appealed to Kampala residents to "prioritise vegetables on your plates and demand healthier options from caterers and canteens."
