🔴 Claim
The New Vision reported that a BMJ Open study linked Uganda’s staple foods—matooke, kalo (millet), cassava, sorghum, maize, beans, potatoes—to rising cases of diabetes. The paper quoted the study as saying:
“In the districts like Busia, the study found that the daily consumption of millet (locally known as Bwita/kalo) combined with meat or fish often discourages the inclusion of healthier, more diverse food items crucial for overall health and protection against non-communicable diseases like diabetes,” the report said.
🔴 Background
The New Vision splashed the story on its July 30 front page under the headline: “Diabetes spike linked to much matooke, kalo”. A longer version inside the paper carried the title “Staple foods causing diabetes”, complete with a map showing 10 regions and their supposed diabetes-causing staples.
Uganda has about 716,000 people living with diabetes, according to WHO figures cited at last year’s World Diabetes Day in Kabale. WHO also said 89% remain undiagnosed.
But the accuracy of the New Vision report quickly came under question.
🔴 What OJ-UGANDA checked
- We reviewed the cited BMJ Open study, “Social norms as influencers of type 2 diabetes risk-taking behaviours: A qualitative deep-dive diagnosis in two high-burden districts in Uganda.”
- We searched the study closely, using both manual reading and digital keyword tools: PDF and PinPoint.
- We phoned the New Vision newsroom to ask reporter John Masaba about the source of the quoted line. He did not respond to calls or emails.
- We contacted BMJ Group in the UK, which publishes both The BMJ and BMJ Open.
🔴 What we found
- The line quoted in New Vision does not appear anywhere in the study.
- BMJ Open confirmed to OJ-Uganda by email:
“We can confirm that ‘Social norms as influencers of type 2 diabetes risk-taking behaviours: a qualitative deep-dive diagnosis in two high-burden districts in Uganda by Kiguli et al. was published in BMJ Open, not The BMJ, and that the quote is not part of the text.”
- The Uganda Diabetes Association also rejected the New Vision’s framing of the story.
- The New Vision has not corrected the original error but later ran a follow-up story titled “Diabetes surge tied to overeating and not staple food”, quoting independent doctors to walk back its earlier claims.
🔴 Verdict
- The claim is false.
🔴 Conclusion
The BMJ Open study does not contain the quote attributed to it by the New Vision. The story misrepresented the study and published a fabricated quote.
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