News

We tend to think of obesity as a problem for developed countries, but for several years now evidence has been building that the public-health hazard is assailing low- and middle-income countries as well, even as these same countries struggle with high rates of malnutrition. 

A study published in The Lancet found that one-third of the world’s population is now overweight or obese, and 62 per cent of these individuals live in developing countries. According in UNICEF, Over 75 per cent of overweight children now live in middle-income countries, making child obesity not only a “high income country issue”, but also a sustainable development issue.

In most low- and middle-income countries, while the wealthier people can afford a variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts and lean meats, nutritious food is either too expensive or simply not sold in local shops in poorer areas. So it is often said that low-income groups have “good access to bad food and bad access to good food”. For example, in South Africa where childhood obesity has increased to 13 per cent, what people living in poorer areas do have access to is cheap, highly processed food that is rich in sugars, fat and salt but missing many essential nutrients. Calories are entering the local food systems, but in the wrong form.

Not eating enough nutritious foods and eating too many unhealthy foods in early years prevents children from growing properly. Obesity has a major impact on national economies and on human capital by reducing productivity and life expectancy and increasing disability and health care costs.

A range of global organisations are working with local governments and communities to fight against overweight and obesity and make efforts to help people eat better, including UNICEF, Scaling up Nutrition (SUN), UNDP etc. Prime Production is proud to support their multilingual communications to make sure their messages and local programme progress are communicated to the rest of the world.