A United Nations analysis suggests Kenyans are getting fatter largely because healthier foods have become too expensive and unaffordable.
Most people in urban areas, therefore, eat unbalanced meals comprising unhealthy quantities of cheaper carbohydrates such as rice and too little amounts of fruits, vegetables and eggs.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said this is the main thing driving obesity in urban areas.
As a result, 45 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men are now classified as obese by the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.
“While price gaps between healthy and unhealthy foods exist in nations across the globe, that price gap is much wider in poorer countries. Also, high-income inequality within a country is associated with a higher prevalence of obesity,” IFAD lead technical specialist, nutrition Joyce Njoro said.
“If we want to curb rising obesity rates in developing countries, we need big solutions that address how food systems work. It is alarming to note that three billion people globally cannot afford a healthy diet,” Njoro said.
The research conducted by Ifad, in collaboration with Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation, reviewed hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and examined data from five representative countries—Indonesia, Zambia, Egypt, Nigeria, and Bolivia—to better understand the drivers of rising obesity rates in developing countries.
Obesity rates across developing countries are now approaching levels found in high-income countries.
“Preventing obesity in developing countries requires a comprehensive approach that addresses cultural norms, raises awareness of associated health risks, and promotes the production, availability and affordability of healthy foods,” Njoro said.
The analysis found that the price gap between healthy foods (expensive) and unhealthy foods (inexpensive) is greater in developing countries than in rich developed countries.
According to one of the studies reviewed, it is 11.66 times more expensive to obtain a calorie from eggs in poor countries than it is to obtain a calorie from starchy staples such as maize.
In rich countries, there is a much smaller gap: it is 2.6 times more expensive to obtain a calorie from eggs than it is to obtain a calorie from starchy staples and 1.43 times more expensive to obtain a calorie from sugary snacks than from starchy staples.
Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is also rising in developing countries while some cultures consider the fatness of a child as desirable.
The series also found women are more likely to be overweight or obese than men in nearly all developing countries.
Reasons for this included different physiological responses to early-life nutrition, different hormonal responses to energy expenditure, weight gain associated with pregnancies, lower physical activity levels, depression, economic circumstances over the lifespan, and differences in sociocultural factors – like ideal body size and acceptability of physical activity.
Acting Director of Health Dr Patrick Amoth noted overweight and obesity are risk factors for noncommunicable diseases such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke and coronary heart disease.
"The moment they flip over 20 years of age, the figure more than doubles. So we need to be able to work with our teenagers to inculcate good nutritional habits, good physical exercise habits so that we can be able to avoid the burden of obesity and overweight," he said.
The Kenya Health Policy 2014-30, policy objective number two seeks to cut the burden of noncommunicable diseases which Amoth noted are occurring much earlier among Kenyans.
"They require longer periods of treatment, they require more time of the healthcare workers so if we can be able to make investments in this pace in terms of prevention then we can be able to create sustainability of our healthcare financing to be able to provide the entire spectrum of services," the director general added.
