The case for a ban - I

A recent UNICEF report, titled "Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children," revealed very disturbing facts.

- BY GOVIND BHATTACHARJEE

It reported that globally, there are more overweight than underweight children, and overweight is the dominant form of malnutrition among school-going children and adolescents. The report said that as of 2022, 20 percent kids, in the 5-19 age group, were overweight, while only 10 percent were underweight, and 8 percent of the overweight kids were obese.

The trend was seen to be more pronounced in lower and middle-income nations. This was a sharp change from 2000 when 13 percent children were underweight and only 11 percent overweight. The report held the ultra-processed food (UPF) and soft drinks industry primarily responsible and urged governments to take urgent steps to protect kids' diets by restricting availability, marketing and purchase of UPFs. The report elaborates how the UPF and beverage industries exercise disproportionate influence over what children eat: "It shapes what foods and beverages are produced and how they are marketed, especially in settings where government regulation is weak or absent.

In pursuit of profit, the industry leverages vast financial resources and deep political influence to resist policies aimed at creating healthier, more equitable food environments." These foods are more widely available, priced inexpensively, and marketed aggressively in places where children live, learn and play, without much regulatory constraints in the low and middle-income countries, where inexpensive UPFs and beverages are flooding retail markets and schools. The report cited studies in Tanzania and Zimbabwe about how Public Private Partnerships are enabling UPF companies to distribute their food products directly in schools to build brand loyalty among young people.