Junk food consumption is a growing nutrition problem in low and middle-income countries, particularly affecting infants and young children, with rising rates of overweight and obesity. The document highlights the prevalence of junk food consumption and its impact on malnutrition, urging interventions at various levels to promote healthier dietary practices. It emphasizes the need for regulations, education, and community support to combat the negative effects of early exposure to junk food.

1. Junk Food Consumption is a Nutrition
Problem among Infants andYoung Children:
Evidence and Program Considerations for
Low and Middle Income (LMIC) Countries
Presenter:
Core Group Fall Meeting
Justine Kavle, PhD MPH
Maternal and Child Survival Program/ PATH Nutrition team
October 14, 2016

2. Child overweight is increasingly a global
challenge
Global Nutrition Report, 2015, 2016 World Health Organization 2016
• Overweight and obesity is rising in every region and nearly
every country - 41 million children overweight
• Number of overweight children < 5 is increasing ;
approaching number of children who suffer from wasting
• Number of overweight children under 5 is increasing most
rapidly in Asia
• Call to address all forms of malnutrition

3. Goal is to halt rise in child overweight by 2025
In several countries the prevalence of childhood overweight is greater
than 7%, which is the global target set by the World Health
Organization (WHO).
World Health Organization 2014

4. • Contributes ‘dual burden of undernutrition and over nutrition
occurring simultaneously within a population’
• Countries experiencing a nutrition transition
• Increasing consumption of junk foods
• Growing number of meals purchased and/or consumed
away from home
• Urban and rural areas affected by market developments
• Child overweight increasing with rising incomes
Junk food consumption in LMIC countries

5. Prevalence of junk food consumption, stunting, and
overweight among infants and young children, DHS
2006-2010
10.5
20.1
7.7
11.6
24.9
42.1
23.4
25.3
32.2
31.2
44.6
32.3
41.0
40.2
39.9
46.2
29.3
26.9
30.2
5.5
8.4
4.0
5.4
9.2
1.4
8.5
1.2
5.5
3.7
0 10 20 30 40 50
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Uganda
Tanzania
Nigeria
Nepal
Malawi
Liberia
Ghana
DRC**
Overweight Stunting Sugary foods

6. Key peer-reviewed literature findings
junk food consumption
• Repeated exposure to sugary and salty foods can familiarize
infants and young children to “sweetness” and salt early in life
• Junk foods consumed with greater frequency than fortified infant
cereals, eggs, and vitamin-A rich fruits
• Early introduction to junk foods and liquids -> mothers’
perception of breastmilk as insufficient
• Ready-made junk foods - frequently softened and consumed with
sweetened liquids.
• Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increases daily
energy intake, and provides temporary and incomplete satiation.

7. Studies reveal that feeding of junk foods is common
among the urban poor
• Nigeria: 65% of mothers fed biscuits and 16% gave soft drinks to
their 6-18 month old children
• Kenya: 41% of infants received sweetened water in first 6 months
• India: 80% of mothers fed ready-made snacks such as chips, puffed
rice, and biscuits to 6-36 month old children
• India: Giving tea and biscuits to children was “convenient,” and
often young children are given money to buy “outside” foods.

8. Factors associated with junk food consumption
• Urbanization and economic growth shape food system,
availability, access
• Drivers of food choices and cultural considerations:
Convenience, ease in preparation, perceptions of the status and
healthfulness of these foods, limitations on mothers’ time for food
preparation, women’s return to work
• Changes in food systems: Changes in the global food systems and
trade -> increase in oil crop production. Exports of junk food,
contribute to increase in caloric and dietary fat intakes
• Marketing targeted towards young children plays a pivotal role
in stimulating consumption of junk foods

9. Country policies to address junk food consumption,
overweight and obesity
Countries Childhood
overweight and
obesity
NCDs Junk food
consumption
(general
population)
Marketing junk foods
(¥denotes targeting
children)
Bangladesh x x
Ghana x x x x
Guinea x
Haiti x x
India x x x
Indonesia x x
Kenya x x x¥
Lao PDR x¥
Liberia x
Namibia x
Rwanda x x
Yemen x
Zambia x x x
Zimbabwe x¥

10. Programmatic implications – junk food consumption
within the context of undernutrition programming
National level - overweight & obesity in key policy & strategic documents
Health facility level - Healthcare providers/families need to understand
healthy versus unhealthy weight gain, and can learn how to monitor rapid
weight gain, provide nutrition counseling
Community level and behavior change communication
• Provide supportive environments to educate families about reducing or
eliminating introduction of junk foods and health consequences
• Introduce available, affordable, and local alternatives to sugary and high-
fat foods for infants and young children.

11. Regulation and early exposure to junk foods
• Ensure standards and guidelines for nutritious food provision at
preschools and early childhood development centers
• Regulate the marketing of breastmilk substitutes
• Appropriate food labeling
• Regulate marketing of junk food early in life, including television
programs
Data Gaps
• Disaggregation of DHS data on types of sugary, high-fat, and/or high
salt foods
• More formative research on drivers of junk food intake and food
choice, including motivations for feeding junk foods

12. Conclusion
In countries, where the double burden of malnutrition
is a growing concern, implementation of these key
actions within the context of current undernutrition
programming is needed

13. For more information, please visit
www.mcsprogram.org
This presentation was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of the Cooperative
Agreement AID-OAA-A-14-00028. The contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
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