MONICA KAYOMBO,Zambia/Lusaka
ACCORDING to UNICEF’s 2025 Child Nutrition Report, 60 percent of adolescents globally and more than 50 percent of children aged 6 to 23 months in 13 of 20 low-income and middle-income countries surveyed consumed a sweet beverage or food in the previous day resulting in cardio metabolic risk markers such as increased bodyweight, fat mass, waist circumference, and blood lipid abnormalities.
In some high-income countries, Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs) now account for at least half of total energy intake among adolescents.
According the latest Lancet Journal report on
: ‘Child and Adolescent Health diets’, UPFs are linked to overeating, poor nutritional quality, and exposure to harmful chemicals and additives.
Under the Nova classification, a framework of grouping edible substances based on the extent of purpose of food processing applied to them, UPFs are branded, commercial formulations made from cheap ingredients such as refined fats and sugars, protein isolates and combined with food additives such as dyes, artificial sweeteners, and emulsifiers to make the final product look, feel, sound, smell, and taste good.
The UPFs are designed and marketed to displace fresh and minimally processed
Foods and traditional meals, maximising corporate profits over health and nutrition.
The Lancet journal indicates that although more research in children is needed, UPF consumption has been associated with cardio metabolic risk markers such as increased body weight, fat mass, waist circumference, and blood lipid abnormalities.
The report reveals that hyper-palatability and soft texture of UPFs create products that shape children’s appetitive traits and preference for these foods for life.
In adults, high exposure to UPFs is known to increase risks of overweight or obesity, chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension, and all-cause mortality.
The Lancet journal report recommends that navigating the current food environment dominated by the economic power and political influence of
transnational corporations are an uphill battle for individual consumers.
It has since called on the Governments to set ambitious and comprehensive policies to restrict the marketing, availability, and affordability of UPFs, and a coordinated global response is needed to confront such corporate influence.
The Governments also need to call on Child-focused policies that should ban UPF
marketing to all children younger than 19 years, including on digital spaces, and restrict UPFs in school meals and environments.
The Lancet journal report has also called on the Governments to issue policies that would compel the UPFs manufacturers to expand the front-of-package warning labels on unhealthy foods and stricter regulations on nutrient and health claims to help young people and parents make informed choices.
It says a key gap in regulations is baby and toddler foods and beverages, many of which are ultra-processed and have high sugar content often in the form of fruit juices or purees but marketed as natural and healthy.
The recommendation is that there must be complementary policies to support the production, availability, and affordability of fresh and minimally processed foods, including in ready-to consume or ready-to-heat forms, to provide healthy alternatives that are compatible with busy lifestyles.
The report says 2025 marks the turning point where the prevalence of
obesity among 5 to 19 year olds surpassed underweight (9·4% vs 9·2%) for the first time globally. The wide availability, affordability, and aggressive marketing of
UPFs to children is putting a whole generation’s health at risk.
