Weekend reading: UNICEF’s Feeding Profit report

The UNICEF report: Feeding Profit: How food environments are failing children.

The UNICEF press release: Obesity exceeds underweight for the first time among school-age children and adolescents globally – UNICEF: One in 10 children worldwide living with obesity. Exposure to the marketing of ultra-processed foods found to be widespread.

the prevalence of underweight among children aged 5-19 has declined since 2000, from nearly 13 per cent to 9.2 per cent, while obesity rates have increased from 3 per cent to 9.4 per cent. Obesity now exceeds underweight in all regions of the world, except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia….According to the latest available data, 1 in 5 children and adolescents aged 5-19 globally – or 391 million – are overweight, with a large proportion of them now classified as living with obesity.

One of the report’s major findings: “Globally, obesity has overtaken underweight as the more dominant form of malnutrition among school-age children and adolescents.”

Why?

• Ultraprocessed foods aimed at children
• Marketing of such foods to children
• Unethical practices of companies making ultraprocessed foods
• Inadquate legal measures and policies to stop such marketing

What to do?  Basically, oppose the practices, and institute measures and policies.

The report is beautifully documented and lays out the issues clearly and forcefully.  It’s well worth reading.  And taking action!