‘One Bite and He Was Hooked’: From Kenya to Nepal, How Parents Are Battling Ultra-Processed Foods

The plague of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is a worldwide phenomenon. Although their consumption is notably greater in Western nations, making up over 50% the usual nourishment in nations like Britain and America, for example, UPFs are taking the place of whole foods in diets on every continent.

This month, an extensive international analysis on the dangers to well-being of UPFs was released. It alerted that such foods are subjecting millions of people to persistent health issues, and demanded urgent action. Earlier this year, a major children's agency revealed that a greater number of youngsters around the world were obese than too thin for the first time, as unhealthy snacks dominates diets, with the sharpest climbs in less affluent regions.

A leading public health expert, professor of public health nutrition at the a major educational institution in Brazil, and one of the analysis's writers, says that companies focused on earnings, not individual choices, are propelling the shift in eating patterns.

For parents, it can appear that the whole nutritional landscape is undermining them. “At times it feels like we have no authority over what we are serving on our child's dish,” says one mother from India. We interviewed her and four other parents from internationally on the growing challenges and frustrations of supplying a balanced nourishment in the time of manufactured foods.

In Nepal: Battling a Child's Desire for Packaged Snacks

Raising a child in this South Asian country today often feels like battling an uphill struggle, especially when it comes to food. I prepare meals at home as much as I can, but the instant my daughter goes out, she is encircled by colorfully presented snacks and sugar-laden liquids. She continually yearns for cookies, chocolates and packaged fruit juices – products heavily marketed to children. One solitary pizza commercial on TV is sufficient for her to ask, “Is it possible to eat pizza today?”

Even the educational setting reinforces unhealthy habits. Her cafeteria serves flavored drink every Tuesday, which she anxiously anticipates. She is given a small package of biscuits from a friend on the school bus and chocolates on birthdays, and faces a chip shop right outside her school gate.

On certain occasions it feels like the complete dietary landscape is undermining parents who are simply trying to raise healthy children.

As someone associated with the a national health coalition and spearheading a project called Advocating for Better School Diets, I grasp this issue profoundly. Yet even with my professional background, keeping my young child healthy is incredibly difficult.

These repeated exposures at school, in transit and online make it almost unfeasible for parents to restrict ultra-processed foods. It is not only about children’s choices; it is about a food system that encourages and fosters unhealthy eating.

And the data reflects exactly what families like mine are facing. A recent national survey found that 69% of children between six and 23 months ate unhealthy foods, and 43% were already drinking flavored liquids.

These numbers are reflected in what I see every day. Research conducted in the area where I live reported that 18.6% of schoolchildren were above a healthy size and 7.1% were suffering from obesity, figures strongly correlated with the rise in unhealthy snacking and increasingly inactive lifestyles. Another study showed that many kids in Nepal eat sweet snacks or salty packaged items nearly every day, and this regular consumption is associated with high levels of oral health problems.

Nepal urgently needs more robust regulations, healthier school environments and tougher advertising controls. Before that happens, families will continue fighting a daily battle against unhealthy snacks – an individual snack bag at a time.

Caribbean Challenges: When Fast Food Becomes the Default

My position is a bit unique as I was compelled to move from an island in our archipelago that was devastated by a powerful storm last year. But it is also part of the stark reality that is affecting parents in a area that is feeling the gravest consequences of global warming.

“Conditions definitely deteriorates if a hurricane or volcanic eruption wipes out most of your crops.”

Even before the storm, as a nutrition instructor, I was extremely troubled about the rising expansion of quick-service eateries. Currently, even community markets are participating in the shift of a country once characterized by a diet of healthy locally grown fruits and vegetables, to one where fatty, briny, candied fast food, packed with synthetic components, is the choice.

But the situation definitely intensifies if a hurricane or geological event destroys most of your crops. Nutritious whole foods becomes scarce and very expensive, so it is really difficult to get your kids to eat right.

In spite of having a steady job I flinch at food prices now and have often opted for selecting from items such as legumes and pulses and animal products when feeding my four children. Serving fewer meals or diminished quantities have also become part of the post-crisis adaptation techniques.

Also it is quite convenient when you are juggling a demanding job with parenting, and rushing around in the morning, to just give the children a couple of coins to buy snacks at school. Regrettably, most campus food stalls only offer ultra-processed snacks and carbonated beverages. The outcome of these challenges, I fear, is an increase in the already alarming levels of lifestyle diseases such as adult-onset diabetes and cardiovascular strain.

The Allure of Fast Food in Uganda

The symbol of a global fast-food brand towers conspicuously at the entrance of a commercial complex in a urban area, challenging you to pass by without stopping at the quick service lane.

Many of the kids and caregivers visiting the mall have never gone beyond the borders of this East African nation. They certainly don’t know about the historical economic crisis that led the founder to start one of the first American international food chains. All they know is that the brand name represent all things modern.

In every mall and all local bazaars, there is fast food for every pocket. As one of the pricier selections, the fried chicken chain is considered a special occasion. It is the place local households go to mark birthdays and baptisms. It is the children’s reward when they get a favorable grades. In fact, they are hoping their parents take them there for festive celebrations.

“Mum, do you know that some people bring takeaway for school lunch,” my 14-year-old daughter, who attends a school in the area, tells me. She says that on the days they do not pack that, they pack food from a regional restaurant brand selling everything from fried breakfasts to burgers.

It is the end of the week, and I am only {half-listening|