I’m afraid I have been unable to cut and paste the whole article from today’s Guardian, but the message is to stay away from western, processed food and stick to the kind of food I eat – traditional Asian style, low in fat, dairy and sugar. These Asian  count ries  still have the lowest prevalence of obesity, though that is changing as western-style snacking, encouraged by international food companies, increases in popularity. Scary stuff.

The headlines:

Behind the world’s weight gain is the rapid transition from traditional foods, often grown in the community, to modern urban diets – and especially the take-up of sugary soft drinks and snacks. Increased sedentary behaviour is also a major issue

The WOF blames the multinationals, known as Big Food. “Their marketing strategies are to reach further and further into developing countries, to find ways they can increase their market share amongst even the lowest income populations,” says Lobstein.

Obesity rates look to be levelling off in the wealthier countries of North America and Europe, although there is no sign of a downturn and the statistics disguise alarming differences between the rich and the poor within those nations. But developing countries have shown an escalation in obesity rates never seen before. The United States no longer leads the world in obesity, having been overtaken by some 18 states, from the Caribbean to the Middle East and the Pacific islands.

Read the whole article from the Guardian here