ArticlePediatric obesity2025
Nutrition transition's latest stage: Are ultra-processed food increases in low- and middle-income countries dooming our preschoolers' diets and future health?
Article in Pediatric obesity, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Age-Related Differences in Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Patterns of Nonnutritive Sweetener Consumption among Adolescents and Adults: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Southeast Nigeria.Current developments in nutrition · 2026Article
- Child feeding practices and nutritional status of children aged 6-23 months in Nigeria: a multi-site survey.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Prevalence, patterns, and factors associated with early childhood cariogenic diet exposure in Kenya.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Shrinking appetites: Will GLP-1 adoption in high-income countries accelerate Big Food's push into low- and middle-income countries?Globalization and health · 2026Article
- Modelling enablers and barriers to improve uptake of a fruit and vegetable voucher scheme (the fresh street community) in England: a TISM-MICMAC approach.BMC public health · 2026Article
- A 50 year review of hyperpalatable foods consumed in binge-eating episodes.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2026Review
- The habit of adding salt to food at the table and its association with socio-demographic, anthropometric and dietary characteristics in Brazilian older adults.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Childhood obesity in changing food systems: mediterranean diet, socioeconomic inequalities and AI-driven personalized nutrition - the case of Italy.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Association between obesity and neurodevelopmental delay risk in children under five years: A study from Tumbes, Peru.PloS one · 2026Article
- Is obesity the missing link? Ultra-processed foods and metabolic and reproductive outcomes: a narrative review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- The impact of ultra-processed foods on pediatric health.Obesity pillars · 2025Review
- Food Preservatives and the Rising Tide of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer: Mechanisms, Controversies, and Emerging Innovations.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Obesity: Prevalence, causes, consequences, management, preventive strategies and future research directions.Metabolism open · 2025Review
- Lights and Shadows of a Primary School-Based Nutrition Education Program in Italy: Insights from the LIVELY Project.Nutrients · 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
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2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionRapid shifts in dietary patterns, marked by increased consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), are increasingly impacting the health and wellbeing of infants and toddlers in low- and middle-income countries.
methodsUtilizing data from the Demographic and Health Surveys, other national surveys, NCD-RisC data and Euromonitor sales data, we examine changes in stunting and overweight/obesity prevalence alongside the latest data on UPF consumption trends.
resultsThe prevalence of overweight/obesity among children and mothers is increasing rapidly while stunting rates decline slowly. Simultaneously, there is a significant increase in consumption of UPFs, especially among preschool-aged children. Increasingly, poorer households are experiencing faster rates of increase in overweight and obesity prevalence compared to wealthier households. Results highlight the early socialization of infants and toddlers to unhealthy discretionary foods including UPFs, potentially setting the stage for long-term dietary preferences that favour food with high sugar or excess sodium.
conclusionThere is an urgent need to address the rapid increases in UPF consumption among infants and toddlers. Options include expanding the WHO Code on marketing to protect 0-3-year-olds; creating front-of-package warning labels focusing on products for children ages 0-3 years to remove all added sugar and limit sodium in foods and beverages they consume.
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