The global obesity epidemic is getting worse.
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There’s a ‘war between two food systems’ — and the big food conglomerates are winning
Big processed food companies, like Nestle, PepsiCo, and General Mills, are expanding to developing nations and contributing to the international obesity crisis.
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More people are now obese than underweight. Meanwhile, scientists say that a new kind of malnutrition — in which people are both overweight and undernourished — is becoming more common, especially in developing parts of Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
As sales of processed food slows in the world's wealthiest nations, big food according to a new report by The New York Times.
The Times examined
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"What we have is a war between two food systems, a traditional diet of real food once produced by the farmers around you and the producers of ultra-processed food designed to be over-consumed and which in some cases are addictive," Carlos Monteiro, a professor of nutrition and public health at the University of São Paulo, told The Times.
Nestlé, the
Since 2003, 36 million people in Brazil have risen out of poverty. The economy boomed and consumer spending followed, but as The Washington Post notes, there has also been an explosion of overweight people in the country. Today, 57% of Brazil's population is overweight, and 1 in 5 people are obese.
In the past decade, food has become cheaper and more widely available throughout the world. But the most accessible foods are often often be high in calories, salt, and sugar, and low in nutrients. In a 2012 analysis, researchers found that
"Who rules global food systems?
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Sean Westcott, head of food research and development at Nestlé, said rising obesity was an unintended side effect of making the company's processed foods more commonplace.
Though the solution is unclear, several global health nonprofits are working toward raising awareness about obesity and other health problems linked to high-sugar, high-fat foods, like type 2 diabetes. In late 2016, Brazil also set new food guidelines, which call for homemade meals, native plants, and avoiding foods that are "ultra-processed."
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