More than one-fifth of elderly Ugandans are underweight, a nutritional survey by the Ministry of Health has shown. 

The study says this is worrying and deserves immediate intervention. 

The survey suggests that the old need to feed well to avert poor health, which is directly related to food intake and as such may result into malnutritional complications. 

"Because of the varying diets, the elderly suffer from diseases ranging from poor eyesight (58.8%), arthritis (57.8) , back and abdominal pain (54.5% and 39.9%), poor chewing (39.3%) fever (47.1%), and coughing (38.7%) as leading diseases," the report said. 

Other notable complications included ulcers, hypertension, headache, constipation, and scabies. These diseases are rampant among those aged between 80-99 years. 

The study was conducted among 362 respondents aged above 50 years in Kampala and Soroti. It shows that 40% of the respondents had health-related complications. 

According to the 2002 housing and population census, older persons in Uganda comprised 6.1% (about 1.5m) of the total population and the number was growing at an annual rate of 7.4%.