Nutrition activists are calling for greater attention to the nutritional needs of adolescents and young people, warning that Uganda’s traditional focus on malnutrition among children under five is leaving older children with less attention.
The call was made during a three-day Sports for Health tournament at Kitebi Primary School in Lubaga Division, where young people were brought together for sporting activities and discussions on nutrition, hygiene, sanitation and climate change.
Sissy Kam, the Technical Advisor for Health at Plan International, said adolescence is a critical stage of physical development when young people also begin establishing eating and lifestyle habits that can influence their health later in life.
She said nutrition interventions should therefore extend beyond early childhood to ensure adolescents receive adequate and appropriate nutrition.
“When you want to have a young person who is actually healthy, you are going to look at their diet and also them being active,” Kam said.
Kam stressed that a healthy diet needs to be complemented by regular physical activity. She said Uganda’s nutrition programmes have historically placed significant emphasis on children aged five and below, while adolescents and other young people have received comparatively less attention.
Kam also pointed to growing concerns about overweight and obesity among school-going children.
She cited UNICEF figures indicating that 12 percent of children aged five to 19 are overweight or obese.
Kam attributed the problem partly to dietary patterns and physical inactivity, noting that families sometimes turn to junk food and sugary drinks because they are convenient.
She said these choices can expose children to unhealthy eating habits from an early age.
Kam called for adolescents to be directly involved in conversations about nutrition so that they can make healthier choices and contribute to building a healthier generation.
Benard Ssembatya, the Country Director of Scaling Up Food Security and Nutrition Youth Adolescents and Children, SANFOYAC, said the Sports for Health programme is using sport as an entry point for promoting healthy lifestyles among young people.
Ssembatya said the programme combines sporting activities with discussions on nutrition, hygiene, sanitation and climate change.
“We are happy to conduct this wonderful event of the Sports for Health programme that is promoting the lifestyles of young people in their communities and at all levels,” Ssembatya said.
He said climate change and food insecurity also have implications for nutrition, particularly among households vulnerable to flooding and other climate-related shocks.
Ssembatya said promoting climate-resilient food production could help vulnerable households supplement their food supplies through small-scale gardens at homes, in communities and at schools.
He also urged parents to pay greater attention to what their children eat and consider healthier alternatives, including steamed foods, vegetables and grilled foods.
The initiative is also seeking to address gaps in nutrition data on adolescents and young people.
Ssembatya said nutrition statistics have traditionally focused heavily on children under five, leaving limited information about the nutritional experiences and challenges of older children and adolescents.
He said the programme is collecting information from people above the age of five to better understand their nutritional needs and experiences. Seven schools have so far participated in the initiative.
Organisers say the programme is intended to bring together young people and other stakeholders to address malnutrition among children, adolescents and young people and ultimately tackle all forms of malnutrition across different age groups.
The Kitebi event is also serving as a pre-event ahead of a national youth dialogue, using sport as a platform to engage young people in discussions about nutrition and health.
The organisers say the broader objective is to ensure that nutrition interventions address not only undernutrition but also emerging challenges such as overweight, obesity and unhealthy diets among Uganda’s growing adolescent population-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
