ArticleMaternal & child nutrition2021
First-food systems transformations and the ultra-processing of infant and young child diets: The determinants, dynamics and consequences of the global rise in commercial milk formula consumption.
Article in Maternal & child nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 97 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
97 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Conduct and reporting of formula milk trials: systematic review.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Pooled it
- Nurturing People and Planet: Breastfeeding in Climate Mitigation and Adaptation.Frontiers in sustainable food systems · 2026Article
- Essential and Potentially Toxic Elements in Commercial Milk Formulas: Health Risk Assessment Through a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Biological trace element research · 2026Review
- Outbreak preparedness for women and girls in low- and middle-income countries: a qualitative study.BMC global and public health · 2026Article
- Associations Between Carotenoid Status, Visual Outcomes and Cognitive Metrics in Children: A Scoping Review.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Seeding the Future: How Feeding Mode Shapes the Infant Gut Microbiota.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Scaling Smart: The Potential of Digital Strategies to Promote Breastfeeding in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Nutrient Composition and Health Information on the Labels of Commercially Produced Complementary Foods in Nepal.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Breastfeeding in Tzeltal indigenous communities in Mexico: embodied and participatory experiences for policy recommendations.International breastfeeding journal · 2026Article
- Article
- Associations of Lactoferrin-Fortified Formula with Infant Growth and Gut Microbiota: A Real-World Observational Study.Nutrients · 2025Observational
- Formula feeding knowledge, practice, and associated factors among mothers visiting public hospitals with infants under six months in Southwest, Ethiopia, 2022.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- A qualitative exploration of Australian parental perspectives of commercial squeeze pouches for infants and children.Health promotion international · 2025Article
- Comparative Evaluation of Fat Quality in Conventional and Specialist Infant Formulas.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Energy Density and Level of Processing of Packaged Food and Beverages Intended for Consumption by Australian Children.Nutrients · 2025Article
- How stable isotopes can advance nutrition assessments to inform sustainable food systems.The British journal of nutrition · 2025Review
- Economic and environmental impacts of commercial milk formula in Indonesia: estimates and comparisons using the Cost of Not Breastfeeding, Green Feeding, and Mothers' Milk Tools.International breastfeeding journal · 2025Article
- Nutrition transition's latest stage: Are ultra-processed food increases in low- and middle-income countries dooming our preschoolers' diets and future health?Pediatric obesity · 2025Article
- Formula Labelling in the United Kingdom: Manufacturers' Compliance With the Code, UK Law and Guidance Notes.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Evidence-Based Lessons from Policy Implementation Research in Two Countries Achieving Progress on Global Breastfeeding Targets: Recommendations from the Philippines and Viet Nam.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The inappropriate marketing and aggressive promotion of breastmilk substitutes (BMS) undermines breastfeeding and harms child and maternal health in all country contexts. Although a global milk formula 'sales boom' is reportedly underway, few studies have investigated its dynamics and determinants. This study takes two steps. First, it describes trends and patterns in global formula sales volumes (apparent consumption), by country income and region. Data are reported for 77 countries, for the years 2005-19, and for the standard (0-6 months), follow-up (7-12 m), toddler (13-36 m), and special (0-6 m) categories. Second, it draws from the literature to understand how transformations underway in first-food systems - those that provision foods for children aged 0-36 months - explain the global transition to higher formula diets. Total world formula sales grew by 115% between 2005 and 2019, from 3.5 to 7.4 kg/child, led by highly-populated middle-income countries. Growth was rapid in South East and East Asia, especially in China, which now accounts for one third of world sales. This transition is linked with factors that generate demand for BMS, including rising incomes, urbanisation, the changing nature of woman's work, social norms, media influences and medicalisation. It also reflects the globalization of the baby food industry and its supply chains, including the increasing intensity and sophistication of its marketing practices. Policy and regulatory frameworks designed to protect, promote and support breastfeeding are partially or completely inadequate in the majority of countries, hence supporting industry expansion over child nutrition. The results raise serious concern for global child and maternal health.
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