Improving diets in an era of food market transformation: Challenges and opportunities for engagement between the public and private sectors
With poor diets posing a greater global health risk than air pollution, alcohol, drug and tobacco use combined, the private sector needs to play a stronger role in encouraging people to eat more nutritious food, according to a new policy brief. The brief, by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), suggests ways in which governments can persuade food industry partners to provide consumers with better access to healthier diets. Some 815 million people in the world are still chronically undernourished and other forms of malnutrition are increasing, latest estimates show. With dietary patterns shifting - away from traditional foods towards fats, sugars and ultra-processed foods - more people, particularly in low to middle income countries, suffer from mineral and vitamin deficiencies, overweight and obesity. The policy brief: Improving diets in an era of food market transformation: Challenges and opportunities for engagement between the public and private sectors, notes that interventions by the public sector alone will not be enough to address these issues.