The Observer (Kampala)
Patience Akumu
4 November 2009
Kampala — Obesity rates in Uganda are rising, especially among the well-to-do. Obese means big. To be obese is to be above one's normal body weight. According to K. Kiyimba David, a doctor at Ntinda Medical Centre, on average an adult female should be between 50 to 80 kilograms, and an adult male between 60 to 90 kilograms.
If you are out of this range, you may be heading towards the medical condition known as obesity, which puts you under a lot of other health risks. You may develop hypertension, diabetes liver and heart diseases. Obesity could also affect your sexual performance.
To keep fit, Dr. Kiyimba normally jogs up hilly roads, especially on weekends. He also plays football and keeps away from genetically modified foods and junk. Forty-five-year old Margaret Onduri who works with an audit firm believes that her job, by its very nature, keeps her physically and mentally fit.
To keep her brain alert, she recently enrolled for a course at MTAC. On top of that, during the evenings when she manages to get home early, she rides a bicycle around her compound.
"I run several errands all day, and make more trips up and down the office staircase than I can count. Maybe I can go for a massage once in a while, and do a few sit ups on my bed. But I am not really an exercise person," she says.
On the other hand, Melinda is a trendy young corporate woman. Her meticulous figure is necessary if she is to jealously guard her sales job in a telecommunications company. Looking that good and healthy does take a lot of work though. Her fitness routine consists of a jog every morning. She eats a lot of vegetables and stays away from red meat. She also does not eat bread because, in her on words, "bread goes straight to my tummy."
Elijah's fitness regime is rather unorthodox. Even though both his parents are born again and would personally kill him if they found out, he admits his way of keeping fit is by taking a lot of alcohol, especially spirits.
"The thing about spirits is that you do not have to do this nonsense of running and jogging all the time." He believes spirits burn away the fat and make him forget the stress of life, thereby making him healthier. The 24-year-old student also makes sure he has sex as often as he possibly can. For he believes sex is the most effective and time tested fitness remedy.
For 21-year-old Charity Namanga, taking two glasses of water every morning does the trick. She says she has done it for years and it works for her, keeping her body fit and her mind alert.
It is hard to believe that Edlyn S. Pacific is a mother. Her streamlined body is the envy of every woman. Asked how she manages to stay in such good shape, she reveals that the secret lies in ballet and a lot of swimming.
She says she does not really like going to the gym as ballet is a more interesting alternative. From ballet, she has learnt how to discipline her body and to keep it balanced. She adds that it also helps to keep a positive attitude towards life.
So what is it that you personally do to keep fit? Keeping fit does not have to be tedious and back breaking. All one has to do is find an exercise they love doing and stick to it, for a healthier mind and body.
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