Processed foods and the nutrition transition: evidence from Asia

Abstract

This paper elucidates the role of processed foods and beverages in the 'nutrition transition' underway in Asia. Processed foods tend to be high in nutrients associated with obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases: refined sugar, salt, saturated and trans-fats. This paper identifies the most significant 'product vectors' for these nutrients and describes changes in their consumption in a selection of Asian countries. Sugar, salt and fat consumption from processed foods has plateaued in high-income countries, but has rapidly increased in the lower-middle and upper-middle-income countries. Relative to sugar and salt, fat consumption in the upper-middle- and lower-middle-income countries is converging most rapidly with that of high-income countries. Carbonated soft drinks, baked goods, and oils and fats are the most significant vectors for sugar, salt and fat respectively. At the regional level there appears to be convergence in consumption patterns of processed foods, but country-level divergences including high levels of consumption of oils and fats in Malaysia, and soft drinks in the Philippines and Thailand. This analysis suggests that more action is needed by policy-makers to prevent or mitigate processed food consumption. Comprehensive policy and regulatory approaches are most likely to be effective in achieving these goals.

Thailand's food retail transition: supermarket and fresh market effects on diet quality and health

“…However, these studies have been mainly conducted in already developed economies and even there the evidence remains somewhat contradictory (White, 2007). The largest comparative economic advantage for supermarkets and international food retail is in supplying processed, energy dense foods associated with adverse impacts on diets in developing countries (Baker and Friel, 2014;Hawkes, 2008). This is particularly relevant in developing country settings where procurement systems for fresh foods are still primarily traditional.…”

“…So consumption of instant foods (particularly instant noodles), snack foods (such as potato chips), soft drinks and sweet cakes and bread products are all rising (Aekplakorn, 2011). When examined overall it has recently been shown that sugar sweetened beverages lead the way in Thailand for transitional caloric excess (Baker and Friel, 2014). As well, an increasing amount of food is being consumed outside the home or from restaurants and this food is often higher in fats, oils, sugar and salt than home cooked foods (Kosulwat, 2002).…”

Trade and investment liberalization and Asia¿s noncommunicable disease epidemic: a synthesis of data and existing literature

“…Of concern, soft drink consumption volumes are increasing in almost all countries. Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines appear to have volumes comparable to those of H-ICs [66].…”

“…Countries are also at varying stages of 'nutrition transition', a dietary-shift from traditional diets rich in staple foods and vegetables towards less healthy diets high in ultra-processed foods such as biscuits, confectionary, savoury snacks, processed meats and soft drinks [60][61][62][63][64][65][66]. As ultra-processed foods tend to be higher in sugar, salt, saturated and trans-fats relative to unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such dietary transitions are associated with rising rates of obesity and NCDs globally [13,21,65,[67][68][69][70].…”

Paying for care in Australia’s ‘wage earners’ welfare state’: The case of child endowment

“…Health authorities recommend exclusive breastfeeding to six months and continued breastfeeding to two years and beyond (WHO/UNICEF 2003). There is significant evidence that China's modernisation has been accompanied by a dramatic decline in optimal infant and young child feeding (Hou 2014), a boom in consumption of ultra-processed and fast food (Baker and Friel 2014) including milk formula (Baker et al 2016) and an unprecedented epidemic of chronic disease and obesity and emerging health cost burdens (Popkin 2008). …”