HEADLINES in the June 8 New Vision newspaper warned, “We are eating our way to the grave’’ and “Obesity rising in rural areas.’’ A third of women in urban Kampala and a quarter of the women in more rural central and southwestern Uganda are overweight or obese, according to 2007 government statistics. It is a major paradox since 50 percent of children in southwestern Uganda are malnourished.

The paradox worries not just Ugandan health experts, but elected officials as well. “Many of my friends used to ride bicycles for transport,’’ said Ronald Ndawula, chairman of Luwero District, an hour’s drive from Kampala. His position is akin to a US governor. “Now I see many of them driving taxis. Many of them now think...