Nutrition experts push for tougher rules on food ads near schools

Kampala, Uganda | URN | Uganda is receiving calls for tougher regulation of food marketing around schools after research indicated that 86 percent of outdoor advertisements within 250 metres of selected primary and secondary schools promoted unhealthy food choices.

At a youth seminar conducted at Kyambogo University in Kampala Friday October 23, 2026, nutrition experts urged the government to introduce mandatory front-of-pack warning labels and strengthen restrictions on marketing foods high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats.

They warned that children remain exposed to products that can increase the risk of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The calls come as Uganda moves to implement its National Nutrient Profile Model (NPM), a framework intended to assess the nutritional composition of foods and identify products that exceed specified nutrient thresholds.

The Ministry of Health signed the model on February 9, 2026, and launched it in August.

Professor Charles Muyanja from the Department of Food Technology and Nutrition at Makerere University who presented the school-advertising finding raises questions about children’s exposure to food marketing in their everyday surroundings.

The seminar also raised concerns about the early introduction of ultra-processed snacks and sugary drinks into the diets of children aged six to 36 months, a period when adequate nutrition is important for growth and development.

The debate comes amid evidence of increasing exposure to some risk factors associated with NCDs in Uganda.

A 2025 study published in PLOS Global Public Health, analysing nationally representative risk-factor surveys conducted in 2014 and 2023, found that the prevalence of raised blood glucose among adults increased from 1.5 percent to 3.3 percent. The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity rose from 19.3 percent to 24.1 percent.

The study also found that sedentary behaviour increased from 26.6 percent to 31.9 percent over the period. In 2023, 25.4 percent of adults had high blood pressure, while 86.4 percent consumed inadequate amounts of fruit and vegetables.

Diet-related illnesses are influenced by several factors, including physical inactivity, alcohol and tobacco use, socioeconomic conditions and access to nutritious food.

The Ministry of Health’s 2023 STEPS survey found that 84.3 percent of people with raised blood pressure were not taking medication for the condition, highlighting gaps in detection and treatment.

Okot Ribon Musoga, a senior nutritionist at the Centre for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT), said growing consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats was a concern in Uganda’s response to NCDs.

Musoga cited a 2024 food landscape survey which reportedly found that 56 percent of sampled processed food products exceeded applicable sodium thresholds, 48 percent contained excessive free sugars and 46 percent exceeded the relevant limits for saturated fats.

Musoga demonstrated a proposed front-of-pack labelling system using a mock-up product called “Nutri-Snack”. Under the approach discussed at the seminar, prominent black octagonal warnings would identify products exceeding specified limits for nutrients such as sugar, sodium or saturated fat.

The labels are intended to help consumers identify products of concern without having to interpret detailed nutrition tables or calculate nutrient content across different serving sizes.

The proposed system would would provide clearer information to support consumer decisions and could encourage manufacturers to reformulate products to meet the applicable thresholds.

However, its effectiveness would depend on enforceable standards, compliance monitoring, public awareness and penalties for violations.

The Consumer Protection Bill was raised at the seminar as another legislative priority. Leon Jotham Onyango, a Makerere University student, said many consumers bought food and drinks without fully understanding their nutritional content or the potential consequences of excessive sugar consumption.

“Introducing front-of-pack nutrition labels would make it easier for consumers to identify products with high sugar content and make informed decisions about what they eat and drink,” Onyango said.

Jenkins Steven Etiang, a Makerere University law student, called for greater emphasis on preventive healthcare and regular health checks, arguing that early detection could help reduce the personal and financial costs associated with complications from untreated illnesses.

Joyline Kasemiire, a fourth-year law student at Makerere University and member of the Food and Law Club, said packaging could create misleading impressions about a product’s nutritional value. She cited the use of fruit images on drinks as an example of how consumers might perceive a product as healthy even when it contains substantial amounts of added sugar.

Kasemiire called on the government to make front-of-pack warnings mandatory so consumers would not have to interpret complicated nutrition declarations to understand contents of packaged foods.

Uganda’s National Nutrient Profile Model provides a technical basis for assessing the nutritional quality of foods, but mandatory warnings require an enforceable regulatory framework. CEFROHT has reported that front-of-pack warning regulations remain pending. The Ministry of Health needs to clarify the current status of the proposed rules, the remaining approval steps and when manufacturers could be required to comply.

The regulatory framework will also need to define responsibilities for monitoring locally manufactured and imported products, establish compliance timelines and specify penalties for violations.

Advocates are calling for stronger restrictions on food marketing directed at children, measures to reduce exposure to unhealthy products around schools and tighter controls on industrially produced trans fats.

These proposals would require coordination among the Ministry of Health, the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, education authorities and other relevant institutions.