Once bitten Snack foods on the rise in Africa and Asia

Ultra-processed foods are taking hold in lower-income countries as experts warn a disease toll is sure to follow

- Kaamil Ahmed

A sweet, butter-filled bread roll, neatly wrapped in plastic, has become the snack that rickshaw driver Jewel Ahmed reaches for when he needs to eat while stuck in traffic in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka.

Bun roti are sold for 10 Bangladesh taka ($0.09) at the same stalls where rickshaw riders buy heavily sweetened tea to ward off hunger and fatigue.

"I often eat two or three of these a day with some tea. I still feel hungry sometimes but these usually keep me going for a few hours," said Ahmed, 27, before he took a large bite.

Bangladesh is not the only developing country where snacks are popular, sometimes even replacing meals. For experts, the rise of unhealthy snack foods is concerning because of the implications for long-term health, especially non-communicable diseases such as diabetes.

Ahmed used to eat a nutritious diet of fish and vegetables, but rising salinity in the rivers around his coastal home town of Bhola ended his livelihood in fishing and forced him into the city. "Food in Dhaka is expensive and, with the cost of living crisis, even basic items are now unaffordable," said Ahmed, who chooses the bun roti over traditional, more substantial snacks such as vegetable-filled shingara pastries. "Bun roti comes packaged, it stays fresh, and can be eaten easily - especially when my rickshaw is stuck in a traffic jam," he said.

But snacks such as bun rotis tend to offer empty calories. Ahmed, who often eats only one meal a day, has lost weight since he moved to Dhaka.