Visceral Vs subcutaneous fat: What Abraham Luzzi gets wrong about Ankole women ‘fattening’

Businessman and former parliamentary contestant, Abraham Luzzi, this week triggered angry reactions when he launched an attack on the cultural practices of the Hima tribe and in Ankole.

In a string of posts on different social media platforms, Luzzi raised questions about the practices of dairy-based fattening of young women in Ankole. 

His argument, however, went too far when it presented one cultural practice as a direct and settled cause of heart disease, diabetes and “early death”. 

In one post, Luzzi challenged the Ministry of Health for being silent about what he termed as a ”health crisis” in Ankole

“For years in parts of Ankole among the Banyankole and Bahima young girls have been confined and force-fed massive amounts of milk, ghee, butter and fatty meat to fatten them for marriage,” he said.

“This isn't just tradition, it's a health crisis. Excessive saturated fats and calories spike risks of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and even early death. Uganda's own Ministry guidelines warn against high fat diets yet no official word has condemned this practice.”

“If you've known about it for decades and stayed silent, you're not protecting the public health—you're enabling harm,” he added

Luzzi’s biggest error is not in asking questions about health. It is in treating a complex issue as if the science is already final. 

There is evidence from Ankole studies that larger female body size has historically been socially valued, and that milk, yoghurt and millet-based feeding have featured in that culture. 

But there isn’t strong evidence of extensive biomedical research showing that Bahima women have a distinct, well-studied form of obesity caused mainly by dairy alone. What exists is stronger on culture and body image than on long-term metabolic outcomes. 

Secondly, Luzzi collapses all weight gain into one medical category. That is a mistake. 

Anatomically, obesity is not only about how big someone looks. It is also about where fat is stored. 

Visceral fat sits deep in the abdomen around internal organs and is more strongly linked to insulin resistance, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and fatty liver disease. 

Subcutaneous fat sits under the skin and is usually less metabolically dangerous, though too much of it can still affect one’s quality of life over time. 

So two women may both appear overweight, but the one carrying more abdominal fat faces higher internal risk than the one carrying more fat on the hips, thighs and buttocks. 

In fact, contrary to Mr Luzzi’s assertions, dairy is not linked to visceral fat. Rather, dairy foods such as milk and yogurt is sometimes linked to lower visceral fat

Thirdly, a rural dairy-heavy pattern is not the same as an urban processed-food pattern

That matters because a traditional dairy-heavy rural pattern is not automatically the same as the obesity often seen in towns and cities. 

Urban weight gain is frequently tied to soft drinks, refined carbohydrates, ultra-processed foods, low activity and chronic stress. 

Those factors are strongly associated with central fat gain and metabolic disease. 

A culturally encouraged rural weight gain pattern, especially in women, may produce more subcutaneous fat because female hormones tend to favour storage under the skin rather than around the organs. 

With that said, that does not make it harmless. It can still increase joint problems, pregnancy complications, reduced mobility, sleep problems and long-term cardiometabolic risk if the weight becomes excessive. 

But it is not scientifically sound to assume the risk profile is identical in every case. 

Luzzi’s post also ignores other forces that shape body size in Ankole women. 

These include genetics, hormones, age, fertility history, physical activity, total calorie intake and changing lifestyles. 

Even within Uganda, women are more likely than men to be overweight or obese, and this gap shows up in both rural and urban settings. 

That means the issue is bigger than one culture or one food group. In Uganda, broader data show overweight and obesity are more common among women than men, while studies in Ankole show that body ideals and social expectations can shape how girls view weight and beauty. In other words, culture may matter, but it does not act alone. 

The strongest public health message is not that “Ankole fattening” has been medically proven to cause early death in a unique way. 

It is that any form of excessive body fat can impair health, and the real danger depends on fat distribution, diet quality, waist size, blood pressure, blood sugar, lipids and physical activity. 

That is why this debate needs careful evidence, not sweeping cultural attacks. 

Luzzi is right that no tradition should be beyond health scrutiny. But he is wrong to present the issue as if dairy, Bahima culture and disease outcomes form one simple chain. The science is more cautious than that, and public discussion should be too.