A recent report by the World Health Organization places Uganda at the top of physical activity in the world.
Only 5.5 percent of the population lacked sufficient physical activity, compared with 37 percent in high-income countries, such as the United States.
Poor nations tend to have populations that are more physically active. Citizens tend to walk or ride a bicycle more frequently, and often their work involves more physical labor. In rural Uganda, more than 70 percent of the population works in agriculture.
But those demographics are changing as people move into more formal employment in office settings, and some wonder if that will lead to a decline in health.
There are efforts to sustain the country’s good fitness. In the nation’s capital of Kampala, home to more affluent populations, fitness groups are popping up around the city.
In July, President Yoweri Museveni launched the National Day of Physical Activity.
And in August Kampala authorities marked the city’s first bike lane.
Sources: The Lancet, BBC News