Food makes Ugandans happy â€" Survey
Mar 01, 2011
UGANDAN youth derive the most pleasure from eating and listening to music unlike other East African countries, a study conducted by the Coca-Cola Company has revealed.
By FRANCIS KAGOLO
UGANDAN youth derive the most pleasure from eating and listening to music unlike other East African countries, a study conducted by the Coca-Cola Company has revealed.
Dubbed the Coca-Cola Happiness Barometer, the study was undertaken last month in 19 countries, including Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania to uncover avenues through which people gained happiness.
While 91% of Kenyans thought that their source of happiness is their family, 88% Ugandans said their biggest source of happiness is food.
This was explained by the fact that Uganda is very rich in terms of food, compared to Kenya and Tanzania.
However, Ugandans are closely followed by 85% of Kenyans who said they are happiest while eating.
Teenagers who derive pleasure from working and making money are few. Those aged between 13 and 19 derive most pleasure from food, family, friends, music and religion.
For Tanzanians, the greatest source of happiness is hugs. Tanzanians were found to hug more than Kenyans and Ugandans although this could have much to do with their culture.
For Kenyan teenagers, the happiest moment is found online on Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites where they get opportunities to make new friends and chat with their friends.
A total of 15% of Kenyan youth said their happiest moment of the day is when they are online compared to 10% and 5% of the youth in Uganda and Tanzania.
Ugandans also seemed to love their music as well as food. The study showed that Ugandans are also the most addicted to music; 41% of them confessed to deriving sheer happiness from listening to songs followed closely by 38% of Kenyans with Tanzanians trailing at 21%.
When it came to dancing, Tanzanians and Ugandans were found to love dancing more than Kenyans.
Tanzania leads with 25% of its teens saying they dance more to cheer themselves up followed by Uganda and Kenya with 17% and 5% respectively.
The study also revealed that the time spent in traffic jams listening to music on the way to school or work were indeed “happy hours†particularly among urban residents.
Catching up in the evening, drinking and chatting during the day are other avenues for happiness people pointed out.
Ninety-five percent of Kenyans overwhelmingly voted their partners as the biggest source of happiness.
Overall, in all the countries where the survey was carried out, people (77%) agreed that family and life partners are the greatest source of joy.
Happiness is defined as a state of mind or feeling characterised by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy.
Of the 19 countries polled, Kenyans were found to be fairly happier than neighbours. Tanzania and Uganda recorded 69% and 63% respectively compared to Kenya’s 78.6%.
The top three happier countries were Mexico, Philippines and Argentina. Kenya was seventh, while Tanzania was 18th.
Uganda proved to have the least happy people after it was ranked 19th in East Africa.
However, it is not clear how many correspondents were interviewed per country since the number was not indicated.
Reacting to the study on Monday, Dr. Paul Nyende, a Makerere University based community psychologist, attributed the youth’s addiction to food to the ever-growing food industry.
“There are new ways of cooking and spicing food as well as advertising, which attract the young to eating,†Nyende said.
He warned that eating is pleasurable, but only if one is eating good food. He advised the youth not to eat any kind of food to curb diseases like diabetes.
Nyende said it was crucial for human beings to keep happy for their psychological wellbeing, have healthier lives and to enjoy interpersonal relationships with others.
UGANDAN youth derive the most pleasure from eating and listening to music unlike other East African countries, a study conducted by the Coca-Cola Company has revealed.
Dubbed the Coca-Cola Happiness Barometer, the study was undertaken last month in 19 countries, including Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania to uncover avenues through which people gained happiness.
While 91% of Kenyans thought that their source of happiness is their family, 88% Ugandans said their biggest source of happiness is food.
This was explained by the fact that Uganda is very rich in terms of food, compared to Kenya and Tanzania.
However, Ugandans are closely followed by 85% of Kenyans who said they are happiest while eating.
Teenagers who derive pleasure from working and making money are few. Those aged between 13 and 19 derive most pleasure from food, family, friends, music and religion.
For Tanzanians, the greatest source of happiness is hugs. Tanzanians were found to hug more than Kenyans and Ugandans although this could have much to do with their culture.
For Kenyan teenagers, the happiest moment is found online on Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites where they get opportunities to make new friends and chat with their friends.
A total of 15% of Kenyan youth said their happiest moment of the day is when they are online compared to 10% and 5% of the youth in Uganda and Tanzania.
Ugandans also seemed to love their music as well as food. The study showed that Ugandans are also the most addicted to music; 41% of them confessed to deriving sheer happiness from listening to songs followed closely by 38% of Kenyans with Tanzanians trailing at 21%.
When it came to dancing, Tanzanians and Ugandans were found to love dancing more than Kenyans.
Tanzania leads with 25% of its teens saying they dance more to cheer themselves up followed by Uganda and Kenya with 17% and 5% respectively.
The study also revealed that the time spent in traffic jams listening to music on the way to school or work were indeed “happy hours†particularly among urban residents.
Catching up in the evening, drinking and chatting during the day are other avenues for happiness people pointed out.
Ninety-five percent of Kenyans overwhelmingly voted their partners as the biggest source of happiness.
Overall, in all the countries where the survey was carried out, people (77%) agreed that family and life partners are the greatest source of joy.
Happiness is defined as a state of mind or feeling characterised by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy.
Of the 19 countries polled, Kenyans were found to be fairly happier than neighbours. Tanzania and Uganda recorded 69% and 63% respectively compared to Kenya’s 78.6%.
The top three happier countries were Mexico, Philippines and Argentina. Kenya was seventh, while Tanzania was 18th.
Uganda proved to have the least happy people after it was ranked 19th in East Africa.
However, it is not clear how many correspondents were interviewed per country since the number was not indicated.
Reacting to the study on Monday, Dr. Paul Nyende, a Makerere University based community psychologist, attributed the youth’s addiction to food to the ever-growing food industry.
“There are new ways of cooking and spicing food as well as advertising, which attract the young to eating,†Nyende said.
He warned that eating is pleasurable, but only if one is eating good food. He advised the youth not to eat any kind of food to curb diseases like diabetes.
Nyende said it was crucial for human beings to keep happy for their psychological wellbeing, have healthier lives and to enjoy interpersonal relationships with others.