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Adolescents in eastern Uganda risk becoming obese, new study suggests
A study conducted by researchers at the School of Public Health Makerere University, has revealed that adolescents in eastern part of the country consume a lot of fats and oils and thus are at a risk of becoming overweight and obese along the life course.
The study dubbed Dietary diversity and associated factors among adolescents in eastern Uganda indicates that majority of adolescents in the districts of Iganga and Mayuge were having low dietary diversity, and majority of them are less likely to consume micronutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables.
The study analysed collected data among 598 adolescents aged between 10 and 19 to assess the health status and adolescents’ behaviour.
“Depending on how long they continue to consume diets with high content of fats and oils, they may end up being overweight or worse obese yet being overweight or obese is known to be an important risk factor for various non-communicable diseases like diabetes and some cancers. These are the long-term implications,” Dr David Guwatudde, one of the researchers said.
About 45.3 per cent residing in the area have a low dietary diversity according to the findings , Further, the majority of the adolescents about 99.7 per cent reported consuming diets high in proportions of fats and oils, spices and beverages, sweets, cereals, and low intakes of micronutrient sources ,vegetables and fruits.
According to School of Public Health, being diverse means in diet means consuming at least 4 of the 9 food groups recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in a day. They include, Cereals, tubers, Vitamin A rich fruit and vegetables, Legumes and nuts, Fats and oils, among others.
Mr Nathan Isabirye, a public health nutritionist and the lead Author of the study said the findings may be explained by the poor farming methods which focus on a few crops in the Mayuge and Iganga districts.
Among the study participants, legumes and other vegetables non-vitamin A rich, were averagely consumed ranging from 50 to 66.2per cent
The least consumed foods are dark green leafy vegetables that stood at 42.3 per cent, meat, poultry, fish at 33.1per cent, dairy products 32.9 per cent, among others.
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