Nestle, Pepsico and Unilever accused of selling less healthy products in low-income countries

GLOBAL – Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), a non-profit group, has released a report which claims major food and drink companies including Nestle, Pepsico and Unilever of selling less healthy products in low-income countries.

The report has triggered concerns in these markets about the impact of such products on the population’s health.

According to a global index published by ATNI, these companies were found to be selling products in low-income countries with lower scores on a health rating system.

Under the rating system developed in Australia and New Zealand products with a score above 3.5 are considered healthy.

However, they found that the average score was 1.8 out of 5 for low-income countries, while it was 2.3 for high-income countries.

The group has assessed food products sold in more than 30 countries, reported Business Standard. The index has split the assessment into low and high-income countries for the first time.

“It’s a very clear picture that what these companies are selling in the poorest countries in the world, where they are more and more active, are not healthy products,” said Mark Wijne, research director at ATNI, in an interview with Reuters, urging the governments to be more vigilant.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 70% of the one billion people with obesity, live in in low-and-middle-income countries. Overconsumption of soft drinks and other beverages plays a crucial role in increasing the risk of diabetes.

Obesity is rising rapidly in Africa. Between 2000 and 2016, Africa nearly doubled the number of overweight adults. The trends are same for children. Africa is currently home to 28% of the world’s overweight children below five years old.

In India, the prevalence of obesity in India has been increasing steadily over the past few decades.

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), about 24% of men and 24% of women in India aged 15-49 were classified as overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25), marking a significant increase from previous surveys.

The specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for global public health explains that people who are overweight or obese are at greater risk of developing serious health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, not to mention social isolation and related mental health conditions.

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