The director of nutrition at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Anna Lartey warns that while addressing problems with undernutrition has long been the main focus of African countries and aid organisations, the increasing challenges related to overweight and obesity are not being given sufficient attention.
She argues that there is a real need to tackle the double problems of undernutrition and overweight simultaneously and that a food system approach is needed to tackle malnutrition in all its forms.
Researchers have warned in a recent study that the increasing problem of obesity is linked to an increase in sugary drink consumption and discussions have now started on whether countries should implement taxes on sugary drinks and other unhealthy foods. Lartey argues that a tax could be considered but its effects may be limited by the fact that wealthier populations would still be able to afford unhealthy products.
Read the full article discussing the challenge with obesity in Africa here. For more on this topic see the following Research Library categories: food and agriculture policy, food taxes, fat tax, obesity/overweight, governance and policy and resources with a regional focus on Africa.
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