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

T scourge of industrially manufactured edible products is truly global. While their use is especially elevated in developed countries, constituting the majority of the usual nourishment in nations like Britain and America, for example, UPFs are taking the place of whole foods in diets on all corners of the globe.

Recently, a comprehensive global study on the dangers to well-being of UPFs was published. It alerted that such foods are subjecting millions of people to chronic damage, and urged immediate measures. Earlier this year, an international child welfare organization revealed that an increased count of kids around the world were suffering from obesity than too thin for the initial instance, as junk food floods diets, with the steepest rises in low- and middle-income countries.

Carlos Monteiro, professor of public health nutrition at the University of São Paulo, and one of the study's contributors, says that profit-driven corporations, not personal decisions, are driving the shift in eating patterns.

For parents, it can feel like the entire food system is working against them. “At times it feels like we have zero control over what we are putting on our kid’s plate,” says one mother from South Asia. We interviewed her and four other parents from across the globe on the expanding hurdles and irritations of ensuring a nutritious food regimen in the time of manufactured foods.

The Situation in Nepal: A Constant Craving for Sweets

Raising a child in the Himalayan nation today often feels like fighting a losing battle, especially when it comes to food. I prepare meals at home as much as I can, but the second my daughter goes out, she is surrounded by vibrantly wrapped snacks and sugar-laden liquids. She persistently desires cookies, chocolates and packaged fruit juices – products aggressively advertised to children. Just one pizza commercial on TV is enough for her to ask, “Are we getting pizza today?”

Even the educational setting perpetuates unhealthy habits. Her school lunchroom serves sugary juice every Tuesday, which she looks forward to. She is given a six-piece biscuit pack from a friend on the school bus and chocolates on birthdays, and encounters a french fry stand right outside her school gate.

At times it feels like the entire food environment is working against parents who are merely attempting to raise fit youngsters.

As someone associated with the an organization fighting chronic illnesses and heading a project called Advocating for Better School Diets, I comprehend this issue deeply. Yet even with my professional background, keeping my young child healthy is extremely challenging.

These repeated exposures at school, in transit and online make it nearly impossible for parents to limit ultra-processed foods. It is not only about children’s choices; it is about a dietary structure that encourages and advocates for unhealthy eating.

And the statistics mirrors precisely what households such as my own are facing. A comprehensive population report found that a significant majority of children between six and 23 months ate junk food, and 43% were already drinking sugary drinks.

These figures echo what I see every day. An analysis conducted in the region where I live reported that almost one in five of schoolchildren were carrying excess weight and a smaller yet concerning fraction were suffering from obesity, figures strongly correlated with the rise in processed food intake and less active lifestyles. Further research showed that many youngsters of the country eat sugary treats or processed savoury foods nearly every day, and this frequent intake is tied to high levels of dental cavities.

Nepal urgently needs tighter rules, improved educational settings and more stringent promotion limits. Until then, families will continue engaging in an ongoing struggle against unhealthy snacks – one biscuit packet at a time.

Caribbean Challenges: When Fast Food Becomes the Default

My circumstances is a bit unique as I was compelled to move from an island in our group of isles that was destroyed by a severe cyclone last year. But it is also part of the harsh truth that is affecting parents in a region that is enduring the very worst effects of global warming.

“The situation definitely worsens if a storm or volcanic eruption wipes out most of your crops.”

Before the occurrence of the storm, as a dietary educator, I was extremely troubled about the rising expansion of fast food restaurants. Currently, even local corner stores are complicit in the transformation of a country once characterized by a diet of healthy locally grown fruits and vegetables, to one where greasy, salty, sugary fast food, loaded with manufactured additives, is the favorite.

But the situation definitely worsens if a hurricane or geological event wipes out most of your crops. Unprocessed ingredients becomes hard to find and very expensive, so it is incredibly challenging to get your kids to consume healthy meals.

Regardless of having a stable employment I am shocked by food prices now and have often opted for picking one of items such as peas and beans and animal products when feeding my four children. Serving fewer meals or reduced helpings have also become part of the post-disaster coping strategies.

Also it is rather simple when you are managing a challenging career with parenting, and rushing around in the morning, to just give the children a little money to buy snacks at school. Sadly, most educational snack bars only offer manufactured munchies and sugary sodas. The consequence of these challenges, I fear, is an increase in the already epidemic rates of lifestyle diseases such as blood sugar disorders and cardiovascular strain.

Uganda: ‘It’s in Every Mall and Every Market’

The logo of a international restaurant franchise towers conspicuously at the entrance of a commercial complex in a urban area, tempting you to pass by without stopping at the takeaway window.

Many of the youngsters and guardians visiting the mall have never gone beyond the borders of the country. They certainly don’t know about the past financial depression that inspired the founder to start one of the first American international food chains. All they know is that the brand name represent all things desirable.

Throughout commercial complexes and every market, there is convenience meals for every pocket. As one of the costlier choices, the fried chicken chain is considered a luxury. It is the place city residents go to observe birthdays and baptisms. It is the children’s prize when they get a positive academic results. In fact, they are hoping their parents take them there for the holidays.

“Mum, do you know that some people pack fried chicken for school lunch,” my teenage girl, 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 popular east African fast-food chain selling everything from fried breakfasts to burgers.

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