"The scourge of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is global. While their consumption is particularly high in the west, forming more than half the average diet in the UK and the US, for example, UPFs are replacing fresh food in diets on every continent. This month, the world's largest review on the health threats of UPFs was published in the Lancet. It warned that such foods are exposing millions of people to long-term harm, and called for urgent action."
"Earlier this year Unicef revealed that more children around the world were obese than underweight for the first time, as junk food overwhelms diets, with the steepest rises in low- and middle-income countries. Carlos Monteiro, professor of public health nutrition at the University of Sao Paulo, and one of the Lancet series' authors, says that profit-driven corporations, not individual choices, are driving the change in habits."
"I cook at home as much as I can, but the moment my daughter steps outside, she is surrounded by brightly packaged snacks and sugary drinks. She constantly craves cookies, chocolates and packaged fruit juices products aggressively advertised to children. A single pizza commercial on TV is enough for her to ask, Can we have pizza today? Even the school environment reinforces unhealthy habits."
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become a dominant global dietary component, especially in Western countries where they exceed half of average intake, and are displacing fresh foods worldwide. A major Lancet review warned of widespread long-term health harms from UPFs and called for urgent responses. UNICEF data show more children are obese than underweight globally, with largest increases in low- and middle-income countries. Corporate marketing and availability, including aggressive advertising to children and unhealthy school environments, are shifting dietary habits and undermining parents' efforts to provide healthy meals.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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