article · eajahme
Around 500,000 children in Tanzania live with overweight or obesity, with urban adolescent girls particularly affected. An investigation based on interviews with 22 national stakeholders across government, international agencies, civil society, academia, and media in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam assessed the current policy landscape. The findings reveal critical deficits in existing legislation and strategies, which remain largely outdated and disproportionately focused on undernutrition rather than overweight. Major barriers include insufficient data monitoring systems, widespread consumption of unhealthy foods, and limited public awareness regarding non-communicable disease risks. Proposed priorities include updating national nutrition policies to mandate food labelling, restricting the marketing of unhealthy food to children, embedding healthy living into school curricula, and fostering environments that promote physical activity and balanced diets through multi-sectoral collaboration.
Childhood obesity is a significant contributor to chronic non-communicable diseases. By pinpointing regulatory gaps and blind spots in public health data, this work guides decision-makers in reforming outdated health strategies. It underscores the urgent need for multi-sectoral policies that promote healthier school environments, clearer consumer information, and balanced diets.
The findings inform policy and public health interventions rather than commercial products. However, the identified priorities point to emerging needs for educational content providers, food labelling compliance systems, and nutrition data monitoring platforms. Potential users include government regulators, public health agencies, and food industry manufacturers preparing for proposed labelling and marketing standards. This work reflects early-stage landscape analysis and policy guidance rather than market-ready solutions.
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Introduction: Malnutrition affects all ages and accounts for 36% of the global disease burden. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed a plan to help governments address malnutrition through better policies and service delivery. In Tanzania, nearly 500,000 children are overweight or obese, especially among urban adolescent girls. However, the effectiveness of current policies on this issue is unclear. This study aims to explore stakeholders' perspectives on policies addressing childhood obesity and identify priorities for national action. Methods: This cross-sectional exploratory qualitative study was conducted in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam regions. A purposive sampling technique was employed to select Key Informants. A total of 22 respondents were selected for interviews from within and outside the government sectors. Respondents were selected from among national government officials, representatives of United Nations agencies, academicians from institutions of higher learning, members of civil society organisations, professional associations, and personnel from mass media. A landscape analysis and thematic analysis were employed to analyse the collected data. Results: The study highlights significant gaps in policies, legislation, and strategies addressing overweight and obesity among children and adolescents. Existing policies are outdated and focus more on being underweight than on being overweight, despite the latter being a major contributor to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Findings revealed a lack of accessible data, particularly for demographics beyond children and reproductive-age women, and a low level of awareness about the health effects of overweight and obesity. Key challenges included insufficient data systems and the prevalence of unhealthy diets. Conclusion: The study calls for improved knowledge through interventions targeting all sectors and decision-making levels. It suggests incorporating overweight and obesity control into school curriculums, updating policies to include nutrition labelling, and regulating unhealthy food marketing to children. Creating an enabling environment for healthy food choices and physical activity is also essential. A multi-sectoral approach involving stakeholders is crucial for addressing these issues effectively.
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DOI: 10.58498/eajahme.v8i1.74
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