Doing things their way? Food, farming and health in two Ugandan cities
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Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Cities & Health
Abstract
This paper presents new data on urban households’ agriculture, food environments and noncommunicable
disease (obesity, diabetes, hypertension) in two intermediate-sized Ugandan
cities (Mbale and Mbarara). Nutrition transition theory suggests that fast-foods, eating out and
supermarket shopping, together with sedentary urban lifestyles and less agricultural activity,
are drivers of growing non-communicable disease burden. We explore these claims using
statistics from a 2015 socio-economic and anthropometric survey of 1995 households. Results
indicate that these cities are already experiencing non-communicable diseases, despite a lack
of advanced food system and nutritional transitions. Surveyed households generally had low or
medium dietary diversity, and a diet pattern and an agricultural practice primarily geared towards
staple foods. Food transfers (mainly staples) from rural relatives were common, particularly for
agricultural households. These farming households also had better income status than nonfarming
households. Experience of food insecurity was relatively common. Nevertheless, high
prevalence and strongly gendered patterns of obesity were identified. In contrast to some
theorising of the farming practice of urban-based households, there was little evidence that
such agriculture was fuelled by poverty, vulnerability or migrant status. Findings also imply that
there are other drivers of epidemiologic change in these cities than those suggested by nutrition
transition theory.
Description
Keywords
Urban Uganda, Urban health, Urban food systems, Dietary diversity, Epidemiological transition, Nutrition transition
Citation
Mackay, H., Mugagga, F., Kakooza, L., & Chiwona-Karltun, L. (2017). Doing things their way? Food, farming and health in two Ugandan cities. Cities & Health , https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2017.1414425