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BookletHealth on the table – A consumer advocacy perspective on reducing overweight and obesity in Latin America 2021
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The health of global consumers has suffered greatly from the growing problem of overweight and obesity. In Latin America and the Caribbean, overweight affects 59.5 percent of adults, more than 20 percentage points above the world average, while almost a quarter of all adults are obese, well above the world average of 13.1 percent. Consumers are among the most preeminent actors of food systems; in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized consumers have been key in promoting policies and regulations that aim to improve food environments. The FAO requested a view from consumer advocates in seven countries in Latin America on healthy eating initiatives, in order to identify promising practices and recommend policy changes. Supported by Consumers International, consumer advocacy organisations developed a consumer-centered framework highlighting the key elements of any healthy eating initiative. The team surveyed over 70 organisations in the seven countries for examples of initiatives that encourage healthy eating. Initiatives were then assessed against the framework to identify elements that could be strengthened, encouraged, or scaled through public policy interventions. This document will serve as a valuable tool for the different sectors, and especially decision-makers, to incorporate the vision of consumers in the transformation of agrifood systems. -
Book (stand-alone)Food policies and their implications on overweight and obesity trends in selected countries in the Near East and North Africa region
Regional Program Working Paper No. 30
2020Also available in:
No results found.Regional and global trends in body weight show that the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region countries, especially the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries, have the highest average body mass index and highest rates of overweight and obesity in the world. There exist several explanations that expound the high rates of overweight and obesity in most NENA countries, including the nutrition transition, urbanization, changes in lifestyle, and consequent reduction of physical activities. This study examines the implication of food policies, mainly trade and government food subsidies, on evolving nutritional transitions and associated body weight outcomes. We examine the evolution of trade (food) policies, food systems, and body weight outcomes across selected countries in the NENA region – Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq. In particular, we investigate the implications of important trade (food) policies in shaping diets and food systems as well as their implications on public health outcomes, mainly the rising levels of overweight and obesity in the NENA region. We provide a simple conceptual framework through which trade policies (tariff rates) and domestic government food policies (subsidies) may affect food systems and nutritional outcomes. An important and innovative feature of this study is that it compiles several macro- and micro-level datasets that allow both macro and micro-level analyses of the evolution of trade (food) policies and associated obesity trends. This approach helps to at least partly overcome the data scarcity that complicates rigorous policy research in the NENA region. Overweight and obesity rates have almost doubled between 1975 and 2016, with varying rates and trends across regions. For instance, whereas body weight in the NENA region was comparable with that found in high-income countries in the early years, after the 1990s regional overweight and obesity rates became much higher than those in high-income countries. Specifically, while most high-income countries are experiencing a relative slowing of increases in overweight rates, the trend for the NENA region continues to increase at higher rates. The evolution of overweight rates for the GCC countries are even more concerning. These trends are likely to contribute to the already high burden of non-communicable diseases in the NENA region. Contrary to the conventional view that overweight and obesity rates are urban problems, our findings show that rural body weight has been rising over the past few decades, sometimes at higher rates than in urban areas. -
Brochure, flyer, fact-sheetFAO's work in nutrition
Nutrition and agriculture
2021FAO’s work in nutrition enables healthy diets, advancing efforts towards reaching global nutrition targets and the Sustainable Development Goals. FAO’s Nutrition Strategy aligns with the Organization’s Strategic Framework to leverage all areas of technical expertise towards achieving the four aspirations of Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life. The agricultural sector is essential in terms of enabling healthy diets. Steered by an agri-food systems approach and its Guiding Principles, FAO’s Nutrition Strategy recognizes the critical role of dairy, eggs, poultry, livestock and diverse crops in policies and actions for sustainable, resilient, and inclusive agri-food systems, food security and nutrition.
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