2/27/13 HE 325 Global nutrition transition and the pandemic of obesity in developing countries Introduction: This article is about studying the pandemic of obesity around the globe. The focus of this article looks at many views and aspects of the reasons why we are experiencing this pandemic. Years ago people did not worry or think much about obesity because they didn’t see it very often. The authors of this article pursue the change in diets in the 1970’s. Something has clearly shifted around these times because by the 1980’s it was understood that dietary quality declined, physical activity was declining and obesity was on the rise in the United States. This study shows how the pandemic is not only here at home, but how it has reached rural areas in some of the poorest countries such as Africa and South Asia. Incentive: The purpose of this study is to attempt to determine what changes have occurred to cause this rise of obesity. There are reasons for why we are eating the way we do, and moving less then we used to. If we can understand what key factors are playing major roles in this occurrence, then we can attempt to restore this pandemic. This article may provide information regarding future options and changes necessary to overcome this problem. Methods: This is a review article so the authors themselves do not use any techniques and they do not do any of the actual studies. This peer-reviewed journal article takes results and discussions from multiple previous works and combines them to show the probable shifts of the human diet. The key aspects, among many others, these authors reached at are studies done on institutional and large-scale feeding programs, education: labeling and front-of-package initiatives, regulations regarding beverages and food marketing, schools, and country-specific initiatives. Conclusion: The authors found major shifts in the way humans eat and drink. Major problems are coming from the consumption of processed foods, fast food restaurants, lack of education, and dramatically reduced movement/exercise. The authors see a evolution process occurring that is non beneficial. We need to evolve towards a healthier diet involving less processed food and more nutrient-dense food. Obesity, cancer, and diabetes rates are all on the climb and a big factor of that is what we put into our bodies. Analysis: The most important thing I took away from this article is that there differently is a change occurring around us and it comes from the decisions we make every day on what we decide to put in our bodies. I think it may be hard for some younger people to see a change happening because nothing seems new to us. We are used to the away from home meals and the easy access to fast food chains. As we get more and more educated on the topic, we begin to realize that health issues are on the rise, businesses are solely based on income rather than related health issues, and people are becoming lazy. Some of ...

1. 2/27/13
HE 325
Global nutrition transition and the pandemic of obesity in
developing countries
Introduction:
This article is about studying the pandemic of obesity around
the globe. The focus of this article looks at many views and
aspects of the reasons why we are experiencing this pandemic.
Years ago people did not worry or think much about obesity
because they didn’t see it very often. The authors of this article
pursue the change in diets in the 1970’s. Something has clearly
shifted around these times because by the 1980’s it was
understood that dietary quality declined, physical activity was
declining and obesity was on the rise in the United States. This
study shows how the pandemic is not only here at home, but
how it has reached rural areas in some of the poorest countries
such as Africa and South Asia.
Incentive:
The purpose of this study is to attempt to determine what
changes have occurred to cause this rise of obesity. There are
reasons for why we are eating the way we do, and moving less
then we used to. If we can understand what key factors are
playing major roles in this occurrence, then we can attempt to
restore this pandemic. This article may provide information
regarding future options and changes necessary to overcome this
problem.
Methods:
This is a review article so the authors themselves do not use any
techniques and they do not do any of the actual studies. This
peer-reviewed journal article takes results and discussions from
multiple previous works and combines them to show the
probable shifts of the human diet. The key aspects, among

2. many others, these authors reached at are studies done on
institutional and large-scale feeding programs, education:
labeling and front-of-package initiatives, regulations regarding
beverages and food marketing, schools, and country-specific
initiatives.
Conclusion:
The authors found major shifts in the way humans eat and drink.
Major problems are coming from the consumption of processed
foods, fast food restaurants, lack of education, and dramatically
reduced movement/exercise. The authors see a evolution process
occurring that is non beneficial. We need to evolve towards a
healthier diet involving less processed food and more nutrient-
dense food. Obesity, cancer, and diabetes rates are all on the
climb and a big factor of that is what we put into our bodies.
Analysis:
The most important thing I took away from this article is that
there differently is a change occurring around us and it comes
from the decisions we make every day on what we decide to put
in our bodies. I think it may be hard for some younger people
to see a change happening because nothing seems new to us.
We are used to the away from home meals and the easy access
to fast food chains. As we get more and more educated on the
topic, we begin to realize that health issues are on the rise,
businesses are solely based on income rather than related health
issues, and people are becoming lazy.
Some of the shocking information includes how much our fat
intake has increased over time. Between 1985 and 2010
individuals intakes of vegetables increased by up to 6 times the
amount. Caloric sweeteners are seen in 75% of foods and
beverages bought in the United States. In 1977-78 two-thirds of
added sugar in the US diet came from food, today over two-
thirds comes just from our beverages. Many countries have
seen major increases in the production of beef, pork, dairy,
eggs, and poultry. Increased consumption of animal-source
food has both positive and negative health effects. This is good
for poor countries where people need a few extra grams of

3. animal source food, but over consumption of these foods are
linked to excessive saturated fat intakes.
The study also showed reduced intakes of legumes, coarse
grains, and vegetables. Most of the reasoning behind this is the
relative price shifts. These foods began increasing in price,
while processed foods kept getting cheaper.
I found this whole article to be interesting and informative. We
don’t really look at diabetes and obesity as a pandemic, but it
really is. I found it interesting that nearly the entire world is
going through this pandemic, even the poor countries across the
globe. Industrialization has really played a big factor in this.
Money makes the world go round, and when
uneducated/uninformed people find “food” that is cheaper and
can feed more people, then they are going to buy it; not caring
what is inside of that food. Businesses know that people are
going to buy something that is cheap and that tastes good. The
evolution of this process has led to a viscous cycle of manmade
chemicals in processed food, and people only looking at price
tags rather than food labels. Over the past few decades
scientists are finally noticing the alarming increasing rates of
diabetes, cancer, and obesity. The evolution of food and
business is taking a toll on our bodies and the statistics are
backing it up. This article is one of very few that are
addressing concerns about rapid dietary shifts around the world.
Some actions need to be taken to create effective programs and
policies to help end this pandemic.
I guess the only question/concern I have is how so many
policies and regulations have been able to get passed to allow
major corporations to put so much unhealthy chemicals and
ingredients into our food. I would hope organizations, such as
the world health organization, would be powerful enough to
keep some of the harmful ingredients out of some of these
foods. The only explanation I can see for allowing this is just
ignorance. The fact that people didn’t know how our bodies
would respond to new ingredients and new changes to our food
must have been the reason to let some of these regulations goes

4. through. I think it is clear now that the way we eat now is
damaging our health.
Global nutrition transition and the pandemic of obesity in
developing countries
Barry M Popkin, Linda S Adair, and Shu Wen Ng
Abstract:
Decades ago, discussion of an impending global pandemic of
obesity was thought
of as heresy. But in the 1970s, diets began to shift towards
increased reliance upon
processed foods, increased away-from-home food intake, and
increased use of
edible oils and sugar-sweetened beverages. Reductions in
physical activity and
increases in sedentary behavior began to be seen as well. The
negative effects of
these changes began to be recognized in the early 1990s,
primarily in low- and
middle-income populations, but they did not become clearly
acknowledged until
diabetes, hypertension, and obesity began to dominate the
globe. Now, rapid
increases in the rates of obesity and overweight are widely
documented, fromurban
and rural areas in the poorest countries of sub-Saharan Africa
and South Asia to
populations in countries with higher income levels. Concurrent
rapid shifts in diet

5. and activity arewell documented aswell. An array of large-scale
programmatic and
policy measures are being explored in a few countries; however,
few countries are
engaged in serious efforts to prevent the serious dietary
challenges being faced.
© 2011 International Life Sciences Institute
Source:
Popkin, B., L. Adair, and S. Wen. "Global Nutrition Transition
and the Pandemic of Obesity in." Nutrition Reviews (2012): n.
pag. Rpt. in THEN AND NOW. Vol. 70. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 3-21.
Web.
HE 325 Nutrition Journal Article Review
Due Wednesday Nov 8, 2017 at the beginning of class
Choose one or two peer reviewed journal articles pertaining to
nutrition that have been published in the last five years and
review them. This assignment will be two to three pages of
typed analysis on recent studies about nutrition.
Answers to the questions must be in Times New Roman 12 point
font, standard one inch margins, typed, double spaced, spell-
checked, grammar-checked, and proofread. 25 Points
Required pieces of assignment:
1) One page summary of journal articles you have chosen. (10
points)
a) What was the article about?
b) What was the purpose of the study described in the article?
c) What was the method of the study described in the article?
d) What was the conclusion of the study described in the
article?
2) One to two pages of your analysis of the journal articles. (10
points)
a) What did you learn from the articles?

6. b) What did you find interesting from the articles?
c) What are some questions you have now that you have
read the
articles?
3) Hardcopy of peer reviewed journal articles citation
information and abstract. (5 points)