tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/unhealthy-diets-27048/articlesunhealthy diets – The Conversation2022-02-18T14:08:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1773012022-02-18T14:08:17Z2022-02-18T14:08:17ZTwo glasses of wine might add more sugar to your diet than eating a doughnut<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447051/original/file-20220217-19-8q023u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flamingo images/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Soft drinks have been the focus of the UK government’s attempts to curb people’s sugar intake in recent years, but the same approach has not yet been applied to the sugar content in alcoholic drinks. </p>
<p>The government introduced “sugar taxes” on soft drinks in 2018, meaning manufacturers are charged a levy of up to 24p per litre of drink if it contains eight grams of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/soft-drinks-industry-levy-comes-into-effect">sugar per 100 millilitres</a>. This was done in order to attempt to reduce the public’s sugar intake in light of increases in childhood obesity.</p>
<p>But a new report from <a href="https://ahauk.org/news/sugar-content-in-wine-revealed-health-experts-deem-alcohol-labelling-woefully-inadequate/">Alcohol Health Alliance UK</a> has suggested that just two glasses of wine contains enough sugar to meet the maximum recommended daily intake level – even <a href="https://www.krispykreme.co.uk/original-glazed.html">more than a glazed doughnut</a>.</p>
<p>The report found that some bottles of wine contain as much as 59 grams of sugar per bottle. A standard bottle of wine contains 750 millilitres, which is equivalent to three large glasses of wine. This means in some cases a single large glass of wine can contain just under 20 grams of sugar, almost twice the sugar content of that glazed doughnut. So, when it comes to alcoholic drinks, how much sugar do they contain?</p>
<p>Consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks has been linked to an increased risk of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/84/2/274/4881805?login=true">weight gain and obesity</a>, and associated conditions such as <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h3576">type 2 diabetes</a>. Most research into sugary drinks has focused on soft drinks, such as colas. Alcohol, or ethanol to give it it’s proper name, is itself calorific. </p>
<p>Alcohol is second only to fats in terms of its calorie <a href="https://theconversation.com/think-before-you-drink-alcohols-calories-end-up-on-your-waistline-37403">content per gram</a>. On top of this potentially significant calorie content is the sugar that is contained in many alcoholic drinks. This includes the non-fermented starches and sugars found in beers and wines, or sugars added to some drinks such as cocktails or mixers to add flavour. It is unsurprising therefore that alcohol consumption has been associated <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/69/8/419/1827829?login=true">with weight gain</a>. </p>
<h2>Sugar levels in cocktails</h2>
<p>Surveys have reported that alcoholic drinks account for 10% of daily intake of added sugar in the UK for 29 to 64-year-olds, and 6% for <a href="https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/effects-on-the-body/alcohol-and-sugar">the over 65s</a>. This difference may be explained by the alcoholic drinks chosen by these different age groups.</p>
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<img alt="Four different cocktails of different colours." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447071/original/file-20220217-23-9ae358.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447071/original/file-20220217-23-9ae358.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447071/original/file-20220217-23-9ae358.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447071/original/file-20220217-23-9ae358.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447071/original/file-20220217-23-9ae358.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447071/original/file-20220217-23-9ae358.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447071/original/file-20220217-23-9ae358.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Cocktails have high levels of sugar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cabeca de Marmore/Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Near the top of the list of sugary drinks is likely to be the recent phenomenon of pre-made cocktails in a can, with some containing a staggering 49 grams of <a href="https://www.actiononsugar.org/media/actiononsugar/Alcohol-Survey-Report.pdf">sugar per serving</a>. Other more traditional cocktails also fare poorly when scrutinised for sugar content, a summer fruit cup cocktail, for example, may contain more than 25g of <a href="https://thehospitalgroup.org/latest-news/summer-swaps-healthy-food-and-drink-switches/">sugar per serving</a>. This figure could be higher at home, depending on who makes the drink, and what is considered a serving. Having several of these cocktails won’t just make you merry, but will also provide more sugar than eating <a href="https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/cadbury-chocolate-bars-most-sugar-9782263">several chocolate bars</a>.</p>
<p>Wine can vary dramatically in sugar content, with the seemingly healthier lower strength alcohol wines often having more sugar and therefore not necessarily being healthier. In general, dry wines or red wines generally have lower <a href="https://home.binwise.com/blog/how-much-sugar-in-wine#toc-how-much-sugar-is-in-a-glass-of-wine-">sugar levels</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-sugar-why-were-hardwired-to-love-it-and-what-eating-too-much-does-to-your-brain-podcast-175272">The science of sugar: why we're hardwired to love it and what eating too much does to your brain – podcast</a>
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<p>For those of us who enjoy beers and ciders, these drinks can contain even more sugar per serving than wine. A pint of cider, for example, contains more than <a href="https://drinkwelluk.com/blogs/news/how-much-sugar-is-in-cider">25g of sugar</a>, with some ciders containing an eye watering 46g of sugar per serving.</p>
<p>Because spirits such as gin, vodka, whisky and rum are highly distilled their sugar content should be negligible. Without mixers, these drinks are clearly the healthiest in terms of both sugar and calorie content. The mixers they come with can however be sugar-sweetened so if you want to avoid sugar, having your gin neat or on the rocks is the best way forward.</p>
<h2>Better labelling</h2>
<p>It is clear that more can be done to alert people to the sugar content of alcoholic drinks. The first step would be to mandate that alcohol producers accurately label their products, not just with alcohol content by volume, but also sugar and calorie content, so consumers can make informed choices. Equally, altering the sugar levy to target alcoholic drinks more specifically would likely cause drinks manufacturers to alter their recipes to have less sugar content. </p>
<p>The levy on soft drinks has shown this can work, with significant reductions in consumption of sugar-sweetened <a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-019-1477-4">non-alcoholic drinks</a> since 2018. The government claimed that the tax <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/soft-drinks-industry-levy-comes-into-effect">on soft drinks</a> resulted in more than 50% of manufacturers reducing sugar content in drinks between March 2016, when it was announced, and its introduction in 2018.</p>
<p>In the UK more than 20% of people regularly drink alcohol at levels that increase <a href="https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/fact-sheets/alcohol-statistics">their health risk</a>. People should also be aware of the less obvious risks posed by drinking alcohol, including the sugar content, and take this into account when choosing their tipple, especially if they are trying to lose weight.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177301/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Brown has previously received funding from the EU Horizon 2020 scheme to study personalised approaches to food choices.</span></em></p>Alcoholic drinks have high levels of sugar that could be driving up people’s weight.James Brown, Associate Professor in Biology and Biomedical Science, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1208112019-07-29T11:34:40Z2019-07-29T11:34:40ZWhy are school lunches still so unhealthy?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285510/original/file-20190724-110154-1gn9a2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do you know what your child is eating at school?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are more than <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ijpo.12185">91m school children</a>
worldwide now defined as living with obesity – and the UK is in the top 20 countries for obesity levels. In the UK, the obesity rate for children doubles <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-child-measurement-programme-ncmp-trends-in-child-bmi">during primary school</a> years – and then <a href="https://theconversation.com/physical-activity-programmes-in-schools-arent-working-heres-why-109684">increases again in secondary school</a>.</p>
<p>This is in part because teenagers in the UK <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772434/NDNS_UK_Y1-9_report.pdf">consume poor quality diets</a>, low in nutrients and high in processed foods. Indeed, girls in England do not get essential nutrients required for <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772434/NDNS_UK_Y1-9_report.pdf">reproductive and overall good health</a> (vitamin A, folate, iron). And young people are also generally low in at least five micro-nutrients needed for development, immunity, mood and energy levels. </p>
<p>Teenagers in the UK also consume the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772434/NDNS_UK_Y1-9_report.pdf">highest amount of added sugars and sugary drinks</a> compared to all other age groups. Teenagers also consume the highest amount of breakfast cereal products (that are also known to be filled with sugar), and confectionery. And only <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772434/NDNS_UK_Y1-9_report.pdf">4% of UK teens meet daily fibre recommendations</a>. This is concerning given that dietary fibre is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease, <a href="https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2018/mar/high-fibre-diet-has-benefits-for-type-2-diabetes,-study-claims-96054636.html">type 2 diabetes</a> and cancer. Young people are also <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772434/NDNS_UK_Y1-9_report.pdf">only eating around two and half portions</a>of their recommended five a day of fruit and vegetables. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action">Research</a> also shows that teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds have <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-child-measurement-programme-ncmp-trends-in-child-bmi">lower micro-nutrient and fibre intake</a> than their more well-off peers. And findings from the <a href="https://foodfoundation.org.uk/">Food Foundation</a> think-tank show that almost 4m children in the UK live in households that <a href="https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publications/">struggle to afford to buy</a> enough fruit, vegetables, fish and other healthy foods to meet the official nutrition guidelines.</p>
<p>These types of dietary patterns can not only have negative consequences on the physical health of teenagers, but they can also impact their mental health. Research shows malnourished teens are <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0024805">less likely to fulfil their potential</a> at school, and more likely to suffer with poor mental health.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-best-way-for-children-to-lose-weight-heres-what-the-research-says-79714">What's the best way for children to lose weight? Here's what the research says</a>
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<h2>Why the poor choices?</h2>
<p>But brain changes that occur with puberty coincide with the transition to secondary school and these changes can influence attitudes and behaviours in all areas – <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-34828-010">including healthy eating</a>. The desire to fit in is strong, and liking healthy food can be seen as “uncool” by teens. Young people also <a href="https://academic.oup.com/her/article/20/4/458/632655">place great importance</a> on social time within the school day. And many teenagers describe the school dining hall as an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0305764X.2019.1630367">intimidating place</a> with poor food choices and teachers roaming – making it somewhere they would rather avoid. There’s also often long queues and a lack of perceived privacy in school canteens – which can lead to teenagers skipping lunch and getting most of their energy intake at morning break or at the end of the school day from local food outlets.</p>
<p>There’s also the wider issue that school food policy has failed to sustain quality nutrition – particularly in secondary schools. <a href="http://www.akofoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2_0_fell-report-final.pdf">Researchers from the Jamie Oliver Foundation</a> were alarmed to find many schools are still serving high fat and sugary foods at break and lunch – including pasties, pizza, doughnuts, muffins and cookies, often in large portion sizes. This is despite Oliver campaigning tirelessly over the last decade to change the nation’s eating habits after <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464070/">Jamie’s School Dinners</a> aired in 2005 to reveal the terrible standards of school food in the UK. <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11821747/Jamie-Oliver-admits-school-dinners-campaign-failed-because-eating-well-is-a-middle-class-preserve.html">Oliver has since said</a> that his push to improve nutrition for children didn’t work because eating well is still seen as a “posh and middle-class” concern.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285511/original/file-20190724-110158-12p6itv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Processed foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt have become a mainstay of lunches in schools across the UK.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>A lack of continuity between successive governments and poor consistency in the evaluation of school food standards may also be to blame. Indeed, the current <a href="https://www.schoolfoodplan.com">school food plan</a> that provides practical and specific guidance on the types of food and drinks schools should and shouldn’t offer – <a href="http://www.schoolfoodplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/SFP-governance-and-funding.pdf">has not been evaluated since 2013</a>. And while <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2">it’s a requirement for schools to follow this plan</a>, in reality there can be a great deal of difference in how schools feed their children.</p>
<h2>Time to act</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/mind-the-doughnut-emotional-eating-is-a-habit-that-can-start-in-childhood-58602">Research shows</a> that eating habits people pick up in their youth <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/28/1/10/1553731">tend to track into adulthood</a>, which makes the teenage years an important stage to start forming healthy habits. So rather than placing the full responsibility of food choice onto teens, more needs to be done to enable young people to make healthier choices. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285513/original/file-20190724-110170-kx5nt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">School lunches should be nutritious and delicious.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>This can include consulting with pupils to engage them in making decisions about the dining room environment and better food education. Reducing choices and streamlining menus has also been shown to improve <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael_Nelson12/publication/265755030_First_annual_survey_of_take_up_of_school_meals_in_England/links/5630bd2d08ae1bdcebcf2383.pdf">healthier food choices</a>. Though to improve teenager health in a sustained way, wider issues <a href="https://theconversation.com/advertising-has-the-power-to-make-children-fat-and-this-needs-to-stop-58899">such as food advertising</a> and food development also need to be looked at. </p>
<p>But of course it <a href="https://theconversation.com/obesity-crisis-cant-be-solved-by-schools-major-new-study-91265">isn’t just all down to schools</a>, parents can also help massively by creating a home environment that supports healthy eating. Here, patience is a must and convenience is key – offer carrots or chopped fruit when they are hungry coming through the door after school. And <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-parents-and-pupils-are-finding-healthy-packed-lunches-hard-to-stomach-65419">be the example</a> – have fun trying new fruits or vegetables – and help kids to recognise that fuelling with nourishing foods impacts how we all feel, think, look and perform.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120811/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly Rose does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Obesity crisis: pizza, pastries, chips, donuts, cookies, hot dogs, and burgers – just your average school lunch.Kelly Rose, PhD Researcher in the School of Science, Engineering and Design, Teesside UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1170462019-05-24T12:03:18Z2019-05-24T12:03:18ZChild migrants around the world are being denied their human rights<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276348/original/file-20190524-187176-1nkejvm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Endless transit. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Panos Pictures/UNICEF</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>At 3am we were forced to leave the bus station. We were caught by the police. They asked if we had passports. We said no, we are from Afghanistan, please help us – the police drove away. </p>
<p>Afghani refugee, 15, on meeting police in Paris</p>
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<p>Abed – not his real name – had been in Paris after a treacherous overland journey from Afghanistan. He is one of many youngsters whose families fear the situation in their own country enough to send their children alone to a safer land. With his father already dead and his brother disappeared, Abed’s uncle and mother sold land to pay nearly US$20,000 to an agent to escort him to the UK. </p>
<p>The agent agreed to take the boy the whole way, feed him well and make comfortable travel arrangements. Instead Abed was passed from agent to agent, travelled in often unbearable conditions, witnessed intimidation and beatings by authorities, and was sometimes lucky to eat at all. When refused help by the Paris police, the consequences were not disastrous. He at least hadn’t been detained, and ended up reaching the UK hiding in a container ship, then applying for asylum and being granted temporary leave to remain. </p>
<p>But all too often, child migrants <a href="https://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/data/storage/f/2017-08-08T105712/Unaccompanied%20Minors%20in%20Migration%20Process.pdf">end up</a> in the hands of traffickers who <a href="https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/sites/default/files/stocktaking_initiative_on_child_rights_in_the_global_compacts.pdf">force them</a> into <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/oct/24/britains-child-migrants-i-was-told-i-was-going-on-a-picnic">sexual exploitation</a> or <a href="https://www.ecpat.org.uk/blog/child-victims-suffer-under-hostile-immigration">slavery</a>, often accompanied <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/27/migrant-children-sexual-abuse-complaints-filed-documents-hhs">with violence</a> or even <a href="https://www.scarymommy.com/migrant-children-tortured-border-inmmigration-detention-centers/">torture</a>. Many more <a href="http://website-pace.net/en_GB/web/apce/children-in-detention">end up</a> in state detention, often used by authorities as an alternative to care, with long-term effects on their mental and physical health. In the US, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48375144">for instance</a>, six child migrants from Guatemala and El Salvador have died in custody since December. The <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/05/20/migrant-child-death-government-custody-vpx.cnn">most recent</a>, an unnamed 16-year-old boy, was “found unresponsive” during a routine check. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275655/original/file-20190521-23848-1qp8rok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275655/original/file-20190521-23848-1qp8rok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275655/original/file-20190521-23848-1qp8rok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275655/original/file-20190521-23848-1qp8rok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275655/original/file-20190521-23848-1qp8rok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275655/original/file-20190521-23848-1qp8rok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275655/original/file-20190521-23848-1qp8rok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275655/original/file-20190521-23848-1qp8rok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In search of a better life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bihac-bih-september-09-2018-camp-1301536540?src=EQBV1cWpVTPt7i8JTc5D5w-2-17">Adjin Kamber</a></span>
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<p>When we recently interviewed unaccompanied refugee and migrant children in Scotland, many told us how during dangerous journeys, no one helped them. Many of these children – and others we have interviewed in countries as diverse as Germany, Mexico, Morocco and Ethiopia – had lost their trust in adults. A recent <a href="https://data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/A_right_to_be_heard_youthpoll.pdf">UNICEF survey</a> found that 38% of young migrants and refugees make similar claims about lack of support. </p>
<p>This is the 30th year since <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx">the adoption of</a> the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ratified by every nation except the US, which is only a signatory and so isn’t bound by the convention, it is a commitment to universal human rights for children to the age of 18. It includes a right to life, survival and development. It includes a right not to be tortured or ill-treated; a right to be protected from violence, abuse and neglect; a right to be protected from sexual exploitation, and from inhuman or degrading treatment. It includes a right to appropriate care, health care, education and an appropriate standard of living. </p>
<p>This framework is underpinned by other international agreements such as the <a href="https://www.unicef.org/protection/alternative_care_Guidelines-English.pdf">UN Guidelines on Alternative Care 2009</a>, which aim to protect children deprived of parental care by making the state responsible for providing an alternative. Yet many child migrants are denied these rights. So how do we ensure our supposed commitment to children’s rights lives up to what was intended?</p>
<h2>The great shift</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.savethechildren.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Save-the-Children-Responds-to-the-Child-Refugee-Crisis-December-2016.pdf">Vast numbers</a> of children and families are on the move around the world. There are now 30m children <a href="https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/around-30-million-children-displaced-conflict-need-protection-now-and-sustainable">displaced by conflict</a>, the highest since World War II, and vastly more unaccompanied child migrants are being recorded than at the beginning of the decade. Besides war, other factors driving child migration include <a href="https://www.unicef-irc.org/research/children-and-migration-rights-and-resilience/">poverty</a> and <a href="https://unu.edu/publications/articles/climate-change-migration-and-the-rights-of-children.html">climate change</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Refugees as a proportion of world population, 1980-2017</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275397/original/file-20190520-69189-46prfe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275397/original/file-20190520-69189-46prfe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275397/original/file-20190520-69189-46prfe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275397/original/file-20190520-69189-46prfe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275397/original/file-20190520-69189-46prfe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275397/original/file-20190520-69189-46prfe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275397/original/file-20190520-69189-46prfe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275397/original/file-20190520-69189-46prfe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.unhcr.org/blogs/statistics-refugee-numbers-highest-ever/">UNHCR</a></span>
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<p>Certainly, there <a href="https://www.togetherscotland.org.uk/resources-and-networks/resources-library/2019/02/child-rights-connect-30th-anniversary-of-the-un-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child/">have been</a> achievements <a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/caring-for-children-moving-alone">in relation to</a> child migrant rights. In Palermo in Sicily, a system <a href="https://www.unicef.org/media/media_95485.html">has been</a> set up to ensure every arriving child receives a legal guardian from the local community. Mexico <a href="https://idcoalition.org/interactive-map-alternatives-to-detention/">is pioneering</a> a system of alternative care for child refugees, providing accommodation and full support and enabling them to become part of the community. In Ethiopia, we filmed impressive work to register lone children quickly to reunite them with families or place them in foster care in refugee camps. </p>
<p>But so much more could be done to help such children. It doesn’t help that much of our evidence relies on first-hand testimonies, since country data is often poor or non-existent. The best information relates to Europe. <a href="https://www.ecre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AIDA_2017Update_Children.pdf">This report</a>, for example, highlights everything from failures to appoint legal guardians in Bulgaria to increasing detentions in France to patchy accommodation in Germany. But even in Europe it can still be difficult to build up a full picture about any one country, still less to compare them. </p>
<p>In any case, most migration is actually between low income countries. This <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/uk/figures-at-a-glance.html">accounts for</a> 85% of refugees – particularly in Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon and Uganda. These countries receive only minimal assistance from wealthier countries to help fulfil child migrants’ rights. This is despite the fact that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child favours such international cooperation. </p>
<p>All state parties to the convention have to report on progress to the relevant UN committee, which publishes <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/crc/pages/crcintro.aspx">regular reports</a> about each country. The committee does its best to be critical where appropriate, but too many countries are still not prioritising the rights of child migrants to any real extent – and the US is not being held to account at all; its refusal to ratify the convention is a blatant disregard for children’s rights. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275651/original/file-20190521-23835-1mxmjnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275651/original/file-20190521-23835-1mxmjnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275651/original/file-20190521-23835-1mxmjnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275651/original/file-20190521-23835-1mxmjnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275651/original/file-20190521-23835-1mxmjnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275651/original/file-20190521-23835-1mxmjnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275651/original/file-20190521-23835-1mxmjnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275651/original/file-20190521-23835-1mxmjnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The implementation gap.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/abstract-blur-bokeh-defocus-image-background-617081084?src=EQBV1cWpVTPt7i8JTc5D5w-2-25">fishman64</a></span>
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<p>We have to ask all nations why they think it acceptable that the rights of children in such difficult circumstances so often stop at borders. The global community needs to treat these children with dignity, providing them with access to education and healthcare, and ensuring that alternative care rather than detention is available. There needs to be proper casework to identify their needs and provide care, and family contact where possible. </p>
<p>Unless the world makes concrete commitments to address these children’s rights much more effectively, any celebrations of the convention’s 30th anniversary this year will ring very hollow. We have the international principles, the knowledge, and examples of promising practice – as we <a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/caring-for-children-moving-alone">have gathered</a> for a new online course – in all continents across the globe. It is time that the millions of displaced children like Abed are treated with the respect, care and support they deserve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117046/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chrissie Gale's department receives funding from the Scottish government. Certain research relevant to this article has also received funding from the Swiss government (the Swiss Confederation), the German government (German Cooperation), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Davidson's department receives funding from the Scottish government. Certain research relevant to this article has also received funding from the Swiss government (the Swiss Confederation), the German government (German Cooperation), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nigel Cantwell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the human rights of child migrants rarely follow them when they cross borders.Chrissie Gale, International Lead, CELSIS, University of Strathclyde Jennifer Davidson, Executive Director, CELCIS, University of Strathclyde Nigel Cantwell, Honorary Doctor of Children's Rights, University of Strathclyde Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1175212019-05-22T13:52:58Z2019-05-22T13:52:58ZPasha 20: In South Africa, unhealthy food choices are everywhere<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275671/original/file-20190521-23848-plpvyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Diseases linked to obesity are rising rapidly in South Africa. A major part of the problem is the growing available of unhealthy food options. In many neighbourhoods there are more unhealthy food outlets, like fast food places, than there are healthy food options.</p>
<p>In this episode of Pasha, Safura Abdool Karim, a senior project manager at PRICELESS SA (Priority Cost Effective Lessons in Systems Strengthening South Africa) sheds light on these issues. </p>
<p><em>Professor Karen Hofman and Noluthando Ndlovu were key members of the research team.</em></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/local-solutions-can-boost-healthier-food-choices-in-south-africa-112183">Local solutions can boost healthier food choices in South Africa</a>
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<p><strong>Photo:</strong>
By VladanRadulovicjhb
September 28 2018 : mobile food stall on the side walk midday Johannesburg city - Image. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/johannesburg-gauteng-south-africa-september-28-1192285969?src=UgZ0kWAgLw8_ojc7iiy4bA-1-84">Shutterstock</a></p>
<p><strong>Music</strong>
“Happy African Village” by John Bartmann found on <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/happy-african-village">FreeMusicArchive.org</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 1</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117521/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
It's much easier for people to access fatty, salty food than it is to find healthier options.Ozayr Patel, Digital EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1121832019-03-07T13:36:56Z2019-03-07T13:36:56ZLocal solutions can boost healthier food choices in South Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260217/original/file-20190221-195876-1eehlhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Poorer South Africans are bombarded with fast food. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The crisis in health triggered by cheap food that’s high in fat and sugar is now well documented. Obesity related diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes are rapidly overtaking HIV as <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-95742016000500013">the top causes of death</a> in South Africa. A bad diet is a major contributor to this epidemic because people increasingly opt for unhealthier, processed and fast foods. </p>
<p>But how should countries like South Africa go about making sure that people – particularly poor people (where the burden of non-communicable diseases is highest) – have access to healthy food? </p>
<p>Recent <a href="http://www.hst.org.za/publications/South%20African%20Health%20Reviews/SAHR%202018.pdf">research</a> from the Wits School of Public Health, the Health Systems Trust and the University of KwaZulu-Natal sheds fresh light on the problem, showing a proliferation of unhealthy food, particularly in poorer communities. </p>
<p>This demonstrates the need for the government to intervene urgently. One possibility is to create new policies or adapt existing policies to promote the creation of healthy food environments. In particular, local governments have a unique opportunity to intervene.</p>
<h2>What food’s available where</h2>
<p>The research used a distinction between unhealthy and healthy foods drawn up by the <a href="https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/publications/dnpao/census-tract-level-state-maps-mrfei_TAG508.pdf">Centres for Disease Control and Prevention</a>. This categorises grocery stores and supermarkets as “healthy” and fast-food restaurants, for example, as “unhealthy”.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hst.org.za/publications/South%20African%20Health%20Reviews/SAHR%202018.pdf">The research</a> set out to assess differences in food environment based on socio-economic status. It focused on grocery stores and fast-food restaurants only, with full service restaurants excluded. The analysis used a tool called the “modified retail food environment index” and show the proportion of food retailers in Gauteng that were “healthy” and what proportion were “unhealthy”. </p>
<p>The results showed how fast-food outlets, and the unhealthy foods they serve, vastly outnumbered formal grocery stores. In November 2016, there were 1559 unhealthy food outlets in Gauteng compared to only 709 healthy food outlets.</p>
<p>Strikingly, the distribution of these outlets are income-based. Most of the poorer wards had only fast-food retailers with no healthy food outlets. Conversely, grocery stores are concentrated in wealthy areas. </p>
<p>The research shows that many wards in Gauteng have high concentrations of <a href="https://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/hn/2010/fs1011.pdf">unhealthy food</a> – in other words, they have “obesogenic” food environments. This means the type of food available in this environment promote obesity, leaving their residents little choice. </p>
<p>This is a big problem. But it can be fixed.</p>
<h2>Changes</h2>
<p>One possible strategy is to introduce policies that limit the number of fast-food outlets in communities. But what would these policies look like, and who would implement them?</p>
<p>Local as well as national government structures have the authority to license and control food retailers.</p>
<p>In addition, local governments have extensive powers over planning and zoning. They could be required to consider the impact on the food environment when granting zoning approvals or business licenses. </p>
<p>This would require filling a gap in municipal bylaws. For example, the City of Johannesburg municipality has passed two bylaws regulating informal or <a href="https://openbylaws.org.za/za-jhb/act/by-law/2004/street-trading/eng/">street trading</a> and one on <a href="https://openbylaws.org.za/za-jhb/act/by-law/2016/municipal-planning/eng/">spatial planning</a>. But neither of these link municipal planning obligations to the placement of food retailers. This gap can be filled by explicitly taking saturation or scarcity of different food retailers into account. This could include, for example, creating a zoning exemption or special approval for healthy retailers.</p>
<p>Alternatively, national level policies can better guide implementation at a local level. This would require governments to adapt existing business licensing and planning frameworks to take into account the lack of healthy food retailers in a particular area. For example, the framework used to grant business licenses is set out in national legislation, the <a href="http://www.mangaung.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Business-Act.pdf">Business Act</a>, but implemented by local governments. This framework might require conditions that are more stringent for food retailers before they set up shop. </p>
<p>Currently, businesses are required to submit a copy of the menu of a food trader and a zoning certificate when applying for a license. This means that municipalities are aware of what kind of retailer is applying for a licence and the nature of their food offerings. Municipalities could use this information to control the number of fast-food retailers in a given area. </p>
<p>Additionally, municipalities could streamline the process for licensing healthy food retailers, making it easier and faster for them to open in areas most in need. By creating a separate, simpler process of approval for healthy retailers, it would potentially encourage more of them to open. Alternatively, they could introduce a certificate of “need exemption”. This system could then allow a waiver of some requirements for a license if that business can demonstrate a need for healthy food retailers in an area. </p>
<p>Local governments have already exercised this kind of power to further public health. Cape Town passed a law that prohibited smoking within a certain distance of doors and open windows. </p>
<p>Municipalities could also put regulations in place that restrict the sale of unhealthy food near schools. In addition, they could incentivise retailers to move to under-served areas. Steps like this are already being explored and are set out in detail by the <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/250228/WHO-NMH-NMA-16.89-eng.pdf;jsessionid=E161C3F2FA84D70219D8F89058EC070E?sequence=1">World Health Organisation guidelines</a>.</p>
<h2>Challenges</h2>
<p>The research shows that poor South Africans have little choice when it comes to purchasing healthy food in their own neighbourhoods. In addition, municipal governments aren’t doing enough to preserve and improve access to healthier foods.</p>
<p>This must change. There’s a plethora of options to select from if municipalities want to improve their food environments and can facilitate the right to access to healthy foods for the poorest and most vulnerable. A good place to start in South Africa would be Gauteng.</p>
<p><em>Noluthando Ndlovu, a public health researcher at the Health Systems Trust was a leading member of the research team.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112183/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Hofman currently receives research funding from the IDRC (Canada), UK Wellcome Trust, UK National Institutes for Health Research, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the South African Medical Research Council. In the past, she has also received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, WHO and UNFPA. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Safura Abdool Karim does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fast-food outlets outnumber healthy food stores in South Africa’s Gauteng province.Karen Hofman, Professor and Program Director, SA MRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS SA ( Priority Cost Effective Lessons in Systems Stregthening South Africa), University of the WitwatersrandSafura Abdool Karim, Senior Project Manager, PRICELESS SA ( Priority Cost Effective Lessons in Systems Stregthening South Africa), University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1077172019-01-18T03:26:37Z2019-01-18T03:26:37ZBack to work? Take lunch from home to save time and money – and boost your mood<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254280/original/file-20190117-24634-1jbnrne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bringing your lunch and snacks to work could save you $600 to $1,800 a year.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Heading back to work after the holidays means turning your thoughts to what’s for lunch. Are you a meticulous lunch planner, or do you only make a decision once those first hunger pangs signal it’s lunchtime? </p>
<p>Whether you bring lunch from home or buy it from a staff canteen or food outlet will depend on the availability of food nearby and whether you have a workplace kitchen with a fridge, microwave and sandwich press. </p>
<p>While it’s easy for work lunch to be an afterthought, there are multiple advantages to bringing your lunch from home and eating in a staff room, rather than at your desk. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-balanced-diet-anyway-72432">What is a balanced diet anyway?</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25245799">Planning healthy lunches</a> and eating with others can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21717837">lower your stress</a>, improve your <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22269987">work performance</a> and help <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25245799">your bank balance</a> – not to mention improve your overall nutrition. </p>
<h2>Being organised is worth it</h2>
<p>Planning meals for the week ahead gives you more control of your food choices.</p>
<p>The most recent national nutrition survey of 4,500 adults <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28814392">found those who “grazed”</a>, rather than ate regular meals, had poorer diets and were more likely to carry excess weight. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254288/original/file-20190117-32828-rdtw8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254288/original/file-20190117-32828-rdtw8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254288/original/file-20190117-32828-rdtw8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254288/original/file-20190117-32828-rdtw8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254288/original/file-20190117-32828-rdtw8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254288/original/file-20190117-32828-rdtw8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254288/original/file-20190117-32828-rdtw8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rather than thinking about your options at lunchtime, plan and shop for the week ahead.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/270805166?src=hDnbqoKLEZXKLnTbsRyQcA-1-2&size=huge_jpg">Minerva Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28153017">2017 French study of 40,000 adults</a> found those who planned their meals were 13% more likely to have the healthiest eating patterns and 25% more likely to consume a better variety of healthy foods, compared to those who didn’t plan. </p>
<p>The planners also had about a 20% lower risk of having obesity. But we need to keep in mind that this is an association and does not prove causation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-be-happier-healthier-save-money-its-time-to-get-cooking-81419">Want to be happier, healthier, save money? It's time to get cooking</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Even <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21333008">doctors report that poor nutrition</a> at work makes them feel irritable, tired, hungry, frustrated and unwell. It makes it harder for them to concentrate, and affects their performance and decision-making. </p>
<p>Workplace interventions to promote healthier eating have included nutrition education, support or counselling to help change behaviours, personalised feedback on nutrition and/or workplace changes such as increased availability of healthier meals, vegetables, fruit and water. These programs have led to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6073101/">small but positive improvements</a> in dietary patterns, lifestyle choices and feelings of wellness. </p>
<p>One study found <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27155973">eating with others at work</a> helped promote social cohesion and boosted people’s sense of well-being. </p>
<p>In another study that followed 39,000 Thai adults over four years, researchers found those who ate by themselves <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25946941">were more likely to be unhappy</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254286/original/file-20190117-32816-1nxa1wd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254286/original/file-20190117-32816-1nxa1wd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254286/original/file-20190117-32816-1nxa1wd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254286/original/file-20190117-32816-1nxa1wd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254286/original/file-20190117-32816-1nxa1wd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254286/original/file-20190117-32816-1nxa1wd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254286/original/file-20190117-32816-1nxa1wd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Company is food for the mind.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/team-designers-having-working-lunch-meeting-524360359?src=vIn5ND-ihvHAY89AHYNGpg-1-3">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Put happy food in your lunch box</h2>
<p>Having a healthy diet may lower the risk of developing depression, according to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28431261">review of the research into diet and depression</a>, which pooled results from 21 studies involving 117,229 people. </p>
<p>The researchers found high intakes of vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, fish, olive oil, low-fat dairy products, and low intakes of animal foods, were associated with a lower risk of depression. </p>
<p>A greater risk was linked to high intakes of red and/or processed meat, refined grains, lollies, high-fat dairy products, butter, potatoes, gravies and low intakes of vegetables and fruit. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28158239">program aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable intakes</a> in young adults, those who were given two extra serves to eat each day reported an increase in vitality, well-being and motivation compared to those told to stick to their usual (low) intakes. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254287/original/file-20190117-32810-jams62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254287/original/file-20190117-32810-jams62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254287/original/file-20190117-32810-jams62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254287/original/file-20190117-32810-jams62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254287/original/file-20190117-32810-jams62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254287/original/file-20190117-32810-jams62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254287/original/file-20190117-32810-jams62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Take fruit you actually like, even if it’s a bit more expensive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-on-woman-cutting-pineapple-149482013?src=rGC4qmT_gl5D_CTKHJLJMg-2-77">Alliance/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, participants who were given vouchers to purchase more vegetables and fruit, and sent text message reminders to eat more of them, didn’t increase their fruit and vegetable intake as much as those who were actually <em>given</em> the extra serves. </p>
<p>So having the healthy foods available is key to eating them. </p>
<h2>Take lunch to save money</h2>
<p>Preparing food at home saves you money. A survey of 437 adults in the United States found <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28256283">those who prepared meals at home more often</a> spent less money on food away from home, less money on food overall, and had healthier dietary intakes. </p>
<p>Australian research shows eating healthily <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27067642">can be more affordable</a> than eating unhealthy foods.</p>
<p>The image below shows the ingredients to make five work lunches that incorporate:</p>
<ul>
<li>3 serves of salad/vegetables</li>
<li>2 pieces of fruit</li>
<li>a tub yoghurt or cheese </li>
<li>vegetable sticks with some dip for snacks. </li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253534/original/file-20190113-43535-1chay9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253534/original/file-20190113-43535-1chay9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253534/original/file-20190113-43535-1chay9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253534/original/file-20190113-43535-1chay9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253534/original/file-20190113-43535-1chay9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253534/original/file-20190113-43535-1chay9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253534/original/file-20190113-43535-1chay9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plan a lunch menu, write a matching shopping list and start saving money.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bronte Goddensmith 2019</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This costs about A$7.50 a day. If you bought a fast-food lunch plus a couple of snacks it could <a href="https://www.aussieprices.com.au/food/fast-food/">cost A$10-A$15 or more each day</a>. </p>
<p>Over a year, the savings from bringing lunch from home versus buying it adds up to A$600 to A$1,800 for one person.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-cheese-bad-for-you-we-asked-five-experts-98156">Is cheese bad for you? We asked five experts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Pack a healthy lunchbox the night before</h2>
<p>You need to be organised to take your own lunch so other factors that influence your food choices don’t hijack good intentions. Try these tips:</p>
<p>1) <strong>plan your lunches for the week</strong> – write a matching shopping list so you have all the ingredient at your fingertips</p>
<p>2) <strong>invest in a lunchbox</strong> – pack it the night before and put it in the fridge. That way you minimise time needed in the morning to make lunch</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254055/original/file-20190116-163283-evj9v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254055/original/file-20190116-163283-evj9v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254055/original/file-20190116-163283-evj9v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254055/original/file-20190116-163283-evj9v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254055/original/file-20190116-163283-evj9v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254055/original/file-20190116-163283-evj9v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254055/original/file-20190116-163283-evj9v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Be creative so it’s easy to eat healthy food at work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image from Rijk Zwaan 2018</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>3) <strong>try a lunch of leftovers</strong> – as you clear away the evening meal, pack leftovers into microwave safe storage containers and refrigerate</p>
<p>4) <strong>portion out healthy snacks in small containers</strong> – this could include nuts, dip and vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, baby corn, snack cucumbers and carrot sticks.</p>
<p>5) <strong>buy a range of fruits you really like</strong> – relative to the cost of snacks from vending machines, it’s less expensive and much better for you</p>
<p>6) <strong>try making a stack of sandwiches</strong>, such as curried egg or cheese on weekends and freeze them</p>
<p>7) <strong>make a mini-salad</strong> in a snaplock bag using baby cos lettuce cups, cherry tomatoes and capsicum so you can grab and go</p>
<p>8) <strong>freeze bottles of water</strong> and add one or two to your lunch box to keep food cool on your way to work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107717/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare Collins is affiliated with the Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, the University of Newcastle, NSW. She is an NHMRC Senior Research and Gladys M Brawn Research Fellow. She has received research grants from NHMRC, ARC, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Meat and Livestock Australia, Diabetes Australia, Heart Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, nib foundation, Rijk Zwaan Australia and Greater Charitable Foundation. She has consulted to SHINE Australia, Novo Nordisk, Quality Bakers, the Sax Institute and the ABC. She was a team member conducting systematic reviews to inform the Australian Dietary Guidelines update and 2017 evidence review on dietary patterns for the Heart Foundation.</span></em></p>Are you a meticulous lunch planner, or do you decide what’s for lunch after those first pangs of hunger strike after midday? If you’re in the second camp, it might be time to change.Clare Collins, Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/811372017-08-17T16:31:37Z2017-08-17T16:31:37ZThe seven tactics unhealthy industries use to undermine public health policies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/182196/original/file-20170816-11027-84ex13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">African governments efforts to improve health are being undermined by corporations luring clientele. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Baz Ratner</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Across Africa there are examples of governments trying to introduce policies that improve health, and protect the environment only to find their efforts undermined by unhealthy corporations, and their industry associations. A case in point is South Africa’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africans-have-a-sweet-tooth-so-shouldnt-say-no-to-a-sugar-tax-64390">efforts</a> to introduce a tax on sugary drinks to reduce the growing burden of obesity. In the process they are facing a barrage of resistance. This is one small example of unhealthy industries undermining the public’s health and the global environment. </p>
<p>If you are working to improve public health and the environment in Africa, you need to know what your opponents are up to. </p>
<p>Below is a quick guide to their tactics, which I have assembled as a summary from three sources: Naomi Oreskes and Eric M Conway, <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/merchants-of-doubt-9781608193943/">Merchants of Doubt</a>, William Wiist’s <a href="https://www.google.rw/search?q=Wiist+W.+The+corporate+playbook%2C+health%2C+and+democracy%3A+the+snack+food+and+beverage+industry%E2%80%99s+tactics+in+context.+In%3A+Stuckler+D%2C+Siegel+K%2C+eds.+Sick+Societies.+Oxford%2C+UK%3A+Oxford+University+Press%3B+2011&rlz=1C1GGRV_enZA749ZA749&oq=Wiist+W.+The+corporate+playbook%2C+health%2C+and+democracy%3A+the+snack+food+and+beverage+industry%E2%80%99s+tactics+in+context.+In%3A+Stuckler+D%2C+Siegel+K%2C+eds.+Sick+Societies.+Oxford%2C+UK%3A+Oxford+University+Press%3B+2011&aqs=chrome..69i57.2675j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">The Corporate Playbook, Health, and Democracy: The Snack Food and Beverage Industry’s Tactics in Context</a>, and Nicholas Freudenberg’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lethal-But-Legal-Corporations-Consumption/dp/0190495375">Lethal but Legal</a>.</p>
<h2>1. Attack legitimate science</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Accuse science of deception, calling it “junk science” or “bad science,” claiming science is manipulated to fulfil a political agenda.</p></li>
<li><p>Attack the scientific institutions and government agencies perceived to be acting against corporate interests.</p></li>
<li><p>Insist that the science is uncertain by claiming scientists don’t know what’s causing it, and that more research is needed.</p></li>
<li><p>Withholding any data unfavourable to the corporate product.</p></li>
<li><p>Using information in a misleading way; cherry-picking by using facts that are true but irrelevant.</p></li>
<li><p>Insist that there are many causes to a health or environmental problem, and that addressing just one of them will have minimal impact.</p></li>
<li><p>Exaggerate the uncertainty inherent in any scientific endeavour to undermine the status of established scientific knowledge.</p></li>
<li><p>Use corporate-funded studies.</p></li>
<li><p>Fund researchers sympathetic to corporate causes or products.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>2. Attack and intimidate scientists</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Create doubt by attacking the authenticity and integrity of the author.</p></li>
<li><p>Attack the credibility of the messenger and allege ulterior motives.</p></li>
<li><p>Have “attack dogs” intimidate opponents.</p></li>
<li><p>Smear the enemy – for example, by calling environmentalists “watermelons” (green on the outside and red on the inside), use hatred and fear of communism to transfer animosity to the environmental movement.</p></li>
<li><p>Threaten to sue -— or actually sue -— scientists and advocates but avoid or delay
hearings of the facts.</p></li>
<li><p>Make accusations using the rhetoric of political suppression.</p></li>
<li><p>Infiltrate scientific groups and monitor prominent scientists.</p></li>
<li><p>Create enough doubt to forestall litigation and regulation.</p></li>
<li><p>Constantly repeat the doubt, using surrogates or “message force multipliers”.</p></li>
<li><p>Use pejorative terms repeatedly such as “excessive” regulation, “over” regulation, “unnecessary” regulation, “nanny state,” and “health Nazis” to promote fear and disdain.</p></li>
<li><p>Always demand more proof.</p></li>
<li><p>Alternatively, aim for self-regulation instead of regulation; introduce corporate voluntary codes to forestall government regulation.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>3. Create arms length front organisations</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Create front groups.</p></li>
<li><p>Run projects through front groups (“information laundering”) – especially law firms, because they can avoid scrutiny due to attorney – client privilege.</p></li>
<li><p>Create research institutes that can create their own scientific studies.</p></li>
<li><p>Sponsor conferences and workshops. </p></li>
<li><p>Create “independent” newsletters, magazines, and journals (not subject to peer review).</p></li>
<li><p>Publish findings selectively.</p></li>
<li><p>Manipulate research funding, design, and authorship.</p></li>
<li><p>Distribute materials— targeted pamphlets and booklets, social media.</p></li>
<li><p>Use public opinion polling.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>4. Manufacture false debate and insist on balance</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Create the impression of a controversy.</p></li>
<li><p>Maintain the controversy, keep the debate alive.</p></li>
<li><p>Create false dichotomies.</p></li>
<li><p>Insist that responsible journalists cover both sides of the argument equally.</p></li>
<li><p>Demand balance, relying on the <a href="http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1880786,00.html">Fairness Doctrine</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Divert attention from harmful products.</p></li>
<li><p>Focus on corporate social responsibility.</p></li>
<li><p>Set up corporate social responsibility foundations; find small-scale, apparently well-meaning community activities.</p></li>
<li><p>Focus on other issues as the problem, like physical activity instead of diet, for example.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>5. Frame issues in highly creative ways</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Insist that the problem is very complex, thus implying it can’t have a simple solution, if any.</p></li>
<li><p>Insist it is premature to suggest remedies.</p></li>
<li><p>Constantly repeat that technological advances will obviate the need for regulations and that the problem can be solved only through the marketplace.</p></li>
<li><p>Insist on personal or parental responsibility and insist that government should have no role in influencing individual health behaviour.</p></li>
<li><p>Use colourful imagery such as “a billion dollar solution to a million dollar problem”); use words like “speculative,” “oversimplified,” “premature,” and “unbalanced”.</p></li>
<li><p>Use the creation of fear as a tool for change of policy.</p></li>
<li><p>Diminish the severity of the problem while giving some ground.</p></li>
<li><p>Admit that it is a serious problem, but not a life-threatening one.</p></li>
<li><p>Admit that there may be a problem, but it is less severe than everyone says.</p></li>
<li><p>Argue that the problem is less severe than other problems -— those should be
the priority.</p></li>
<li><p>Argue that the cost to fix the problem is too high.</p></li>
<li><p>Argue that the benefits of the problem haven’t been considered.</p></li>
<li><p>Argue that other options haven’t been considered.</p></li>
<li><p>Understand and use the power of language – the other side’s language is filled with uncertainties, so make sure yours is certain.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>6. Fund industry disinformation campaigns</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Run industry disinformation campaigns using new and creative forms.</p></li>
<li><p>Pay and co-opt celebrities and sympathetic expert witnesses.</p></li>
<li><p>Sponsor conferences to challenge scientific consensus.</p></li>
<li><p>Align with other issues – employment discrimination, antitax groups.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>7. Influence the political agenda</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Donate to political parties across the political spectrum.</p></li>
<li><p>Get representatives from unhealthy industries around the policy table, for guideline development or standard setting.</p></li>
<li><p>Invest heavily in paid lobbyists.</p></li>
<li><p>Get “friends” in important and influential government roles —- for example, by targeted hiring of politicians, their advisers, or senior administration officials once they leave office.</p></li>
<li><p>Aim to reduce government budgets for regulatory or scientific, or policy activities against corporate interests.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><em>This is an edited version of <a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303861">an article</a> that appeared in a publication of the American Journal of Public Health.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81137/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Moodie has received funding from the Australian Department of Health, and chaired the National Preventative Health Taskforce from 2008-2011. He chairs the GAVI Alliance Evaluation Advisory Committee and he receives sitting fees. He has worked with WHO as an adviser over many years. He is currently on the WHO expert panel on Health Promotion</span></em></p>Unhealthy food corporations use various tactics to undermine public health policies aimed at tackling the scourge of non-communicable diseases like diabetes and obesity.Rob Moodie, Professor of Public Health, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/761752017-04-25T08:58:02Z2017-04-25T08:58:02Z‘Junk food’ and the consumer blame game<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166263/original/file-20170421-12665-q3ugmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Albina Glisic/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>People in the UK are hooked on takeaways and microwave meals, or so we are constantly told by TV chefs and the media. This apparent addiction to fast food is leading to an obesity epidemic.</p>
<p>But what exactly is “junk food”? And why is the consumer always at fault for failing to resist these hyper-palatable foods?</p>
<p>According to a recent <a href="http://www.itv.com/news/2017-03-03/brits-eat-100-million-fast-food-and-takeaway-meals-a-week/">YouGov survey</a>, we eat too much “junk food” and new research by the <a href="https://iea.org.uk/media/no-excuse-for-eating-junk-food-healthy-meals-are-cheaper/">Institute of Economic Affairs</a> (IEA) says we can no longer say we do so because it’s cheaper. But how can we substantiate these claims unless we agree what classifies as junk food?</p>
<p>With companies such as Deliveroo making it possible to order takeaway food from virtually any type of restaurant, consumers asked the question “How many times a week do you have a takeaway?” may inadvertently tell the world they regularly consume junk food. But in fact they may have ordered a takeaway salmon and vegetable dish. And a so-called “ready meal” containing natural ingredients and little added salt, fat or sugar may face the same judgement. </p>
<p>The IEA focused on this area specifically, claiming ready meals are no cheaper than cooking from scratch – and in many cases they’re right. For example, Marks & Spencer’s “Balanced For You” range starts at £4.25 for a meal, which some people may consider expensive for a single portion. However, with an average across the range of less than 400 calories, 10g of fat, 1.5g of salt and 5g of sugar per meal, these ready meals would not fall into most people’s idea of junk food.</p>
<p>If we were to agree that the majority of junk food is laden with fat, sugar and salt and that buying healthy food can be cheaper, why do people fail to buy more fruit and vegetables and why do we have such high rates of obesity? </p>
<h2>‘Bliss point’</h2>
<p>Studies suggest that genetically we have changed very little since our hunter-gatherer ancestors. We are engineered to seek the most energy-packed food. Despite evolution, we have not evolved at the same pace as our economy or industry – nor our diets. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.05.019">Animal studies</a> have shown that they too favour foods that are high in sugar and fat. The combination of ingredients often referred to as the “bliss point” is hyper-palatable portions of fat, salt and sugar that are irresistible to our taste buds. </p>
<p>Consumption of junk food often comes down to taste and availability and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.04.017">aggressive marketing</a> exacerbates this. The retail food industry knows that foods high in sugar, fat and salt sell and therefore push such products onto a wide demographic. Advertisements energetically promote these food products. For example, more than 60% of the food and drink adverts <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/777938/junk-food-adverts-ant-and-dec-saturday-night-takeaway">during Ant and Dec’s</a> Saturday night prime time programme were for so-called junk foods. This did face criticism but it’s a regular occurrence. </p>
<p>Even McDonald’s, which are supposedly trying to demonstrate “responsible eating”, does so by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/31/mcdonalds-happy-meal-adverts-dont-help-children-choose-healthy-food">advertising</a> its apple snacks in children’s meals – a not-so-subtle way of promoting fast food to children and their parents. Apple slices, though appealing, do not make the accompanying cheeseburger or chicken nuggets a healthy option.</p>
<p>This isn’t solely restricted to the media. It is noticeable in our daily lives, too. As I walk into my local supermarket, I’m immediately faced with a display of 50p jam donuts and hot cross buns and the smell of freshly baked bread. This instantly sets off the hunger hormone “ghrelin” and makes me want to buy more food as I walk around the aisles. </p>
<p>I counted six aisles with over 100 adverts for high fat and high sugar content products. Likewise, almost every end of aisle display boasted promotional offers on crisps, soft drinks, chocolates and other junk foods. The government advises healthy eating as an easy choice but, as I attempt to bypass the end aisles, I’m bombarded with a wave of promotional signs. In contrast, there are rarely large discounts offered on fruit and vegetables, despite the latest news <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/23/five-a-day-fruit-veg-must-double-10-major-study-finds/">headline recommendation</a> to eat ten, rather than five, portions a day. </p>
<h2>Advertising and digital media</h2>
<p>One <a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2009.179267">global study</a> showed that the most advertised types of food and drink were fast food, sugary cereals and snacks including chocolate and crisps. Therefore, it seems unfair to blame buying habits entirely on the consumer when the majority of these adverts are for unhealthy foods, which we are preconditioned to crave. Digital media also offers another platform for the junk food industry to sink their teeth into. McDonald’s has more than <a href="https://www.facebook.com/McDonaldsUK/?brand_redir=10150097174480584">70m followers</a> on Facebook and KFC <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KFC.uk/?brand_redir=103737039656866">has over 45m</a>. The industry is well aware that peer influence can have lasting effects, especially among adolescents. </p>
<p>For me, the government is not doing enough to prohibit this kind of publicity in the media and in stores. Theresa May has been <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/777938/junk-food-adverts-ant-and-dec-saturday-night-takeaway%5d">criticised</a> for her stance on junk food advertising and blamed for abandoning plans to tackle childhood obesity. </p>
<p>The sugar tax may have some effect as a small number of companies have indicated they will reformulate their products. But is the tax likely to influence consumer choice if it is not coupled with nutritional advice? And where can we get this advice? Our GPs are not trained to explain what constitutes junk food and we have seen NHS funding <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/oct/17/nhs-cuts-impact-on-patients-revealed">cuts for child obesity</a> programmes and dietitians. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"855251215529148416"}"></div></p>
<p>My <a href="https://ljmu.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/eating-habits-survey">research</a> aims to answer some of these dilemmas. I want to discover whether we are actually eating as much junk food as is being suggested. To do this I want to devise a method to help determine people’s food intake from urine samples which can assess an individual’s nutritional status. If we can answer these questions then we can begin to understand and improve our eating habits and help people with long-term dietary problems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayley Janssen is affiliated with the Association for Nutrition and has a research collaboration with Aberystwyth University. </span></em></p>Junk food versus healthy food – why are we always blaming consumers for ‘bad’ food choices?Hayley Janssen, PhD candidate, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/622912016-09-12T05:29:49Z2016-09-12T05:29:49ZHealth Check: can vitamins supplement a poor diet?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133438/original/image-20160809-20932-1c0mim6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are things that come from plants that aren't in multivitamins. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Vitamins and minerals are essential for keeping us in good health. While eating a varied diet should give us all the nutrients we need, <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4364.0.55.007?OpenDocument">recent diet and health surveys</a> show the typical Australian diet is far from varied – or even close to what is considered a healthy diet. </p>
<p>To the rescue come vitamin and mineral supplements, but can they deliver on their promises and are they for everyone?</p>
<h2>Who needs a supplement?</h2>
<p>When writing about supplements, a glib approach is to state we can get everything we need from food, so we don’t need them. Eat your veggies. Don’t take supplements. End of story. </p>
<p>That isn’t the whole story, though. Already, our <a href="http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/nutrition/vitaminadded/Pages/default.aspx">food supply is fortified</a> with folic acid, iodine and thiamin to prevent serious public health issues related to conditions arising from deficiencies of these nutrients in some groups of people. So the rationale of needing to supplement for best health has some validity, but is underpinned by our generally poor eating habits to begin with.</p>
<p>There are groups of people for whom vitamin and mineral supplements would be recommended. Women planning pregnancy can benefit from a range of nutrients, such as folic acid and iodine, that reduce the risk of birth defects. People with limited exposure to sunlight would certainly be advised to consider a vitamin D supplement.</p>
<p>Frail and aged people are candidates as well due to food access problems, chewing and swallowing difficulties, absorption problems and medication. People with malabsorption problems, some vegetarians and people following chronic low-calorie diets all make the list as well. And, of course, people with a clinically diagnosed deficiency could all benefit from supplementation.</p>
<h2>Why nutrients from food are better than from supplements</h2>
<p>So should everyone take supplements “just in case”? Not so fast. Taking multivitamins as a nutritional insurance policy may be an issue for more than just your wallet. Seeing a supplement as a solution may contribute to neglecting healthy food choices, and this has bigger consequences for long-term health.</p>
<p>Food is a complex mix of vitamins, minerals and <a href="http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/090313p70.shtml">phytochemicals</a> (plant chemicals). Phytochemicals are an important component of food and help to reduce the risk of conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Vitamin and mineral supplements do not provide the benefits of phytochemicals and other components found in food, such as fibre.</p>
<p>Whole foods usually contain vitamins and minerals in different forms – for example, vitamin E occurs in nature in eight different forms – but supplements contain just one of these forms.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133440/original/image-20160809-18053-1xr7tpx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133440/original/image-20160809-18053-1xr7tpx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133440/original/image-20160809-18053-1xr7tpx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133440/original/image-20160809-18053-1xr7tpx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133440/original/image-20160809-18053-1xr7tpx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133440/original/image-20160809-18053-1xr7tpx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133440/original/image-20160809-18053-1xr7tpx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133440/original/image-20160809-18053-1xr7tpx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We should get all of our vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals from vegetables, but that’s if we’re eating them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you look at habits linked to long-term health, it is eating plenty of plant-based foods that comes out on top, not so much taking supplements. This <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2012/12/18/ajcn.112.049304.abstract">meta-analysis</a> of 21 multivitamin-multimineral supplement clinical trials failed to find any benefit of improved life-expectancy or lower risks of heart disease or cancer from taking supplements.</p>
<p>The promise of possible benefits from supplements takes the focus from what really does promote better health and less chronic disease: eating a varied diet with plenty of minimally processed plant-based foods, regular activity, drinking within guideline recommendations and not smoking.</p>
<p>For a healthy adult, if supplements are used, these should normally be taken at levels close to the <a href="https://www.nrv.gov.au/">recommended dietary intake</a>. High-dose supplements should not be taken unless recommended under medical advice.</p>
<p>Formulations of multivitamins vary between manufacturers, with further <a href="https://www.choice.com.au/health-and-body/medicines-and-supplements/vitamins-and-supplements/articles/multivitamins">market segmentation</a> due to products aimed at different genders and life stages. For example, a multivitamin targeting women of childbearing age will likely be higher in iron than one for adult men. The government’s recommended dietary intakes for each vitamin and mineral are set out by gender and age, and manufacturers generally mirror these recommendations in their formulations.</p>
<p>Although taking too much of certain vitamins or minerals can be harmful, the doses present in multivitamins are typically low. After all, you can only pack so much of each nutrient into a multivitamin pill, and often it is not even close to the recommended dietary intake.</p>
<p>Vitamin and mineral supplements can’t replace a healthy diet, but a general multivitamin may help if your diet is inadequate or where there is already a well-supported rationale for you to take one. If you feel you could be lacking in certain vitamins and minerals, it is better to look at changing your diet and lifestyle first, rather than reaching for supplements.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62291/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Crowe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Recent diet and health surveys show the typical Australian diet is far from what is considered a healthy diet. Can vitamin and mineral supplements come to the rescue?Tim Crowe, Associate Professor in Nutrition, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/584422016-04-29T04:26:55Z2016-04-29T04:26:55ZKenyans and Ugandans need to change their ways to arrest lifestyle diseases<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120251/original/image-20160426-1327-i6eocx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Siegfried Modola </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 90% Kenyans consume less than five servings of fruits and vegetables on most days. Nearly a quarter always add salt to their food before eating or during their meals. And 28% always add sugar to beverages. </p>
<p>More than half of the adult Kenyan population have never had their blood pressure tested. Yet one in four people has high blood pressure. Diabetes testing has even worse adherence, with only one in ten adults ever being tested.</p>
<p>The majority have never had their cholesterol levels tested, while 27% are either overweight or obese.</p>
<p>These are the results from the newly released <a href="http://aphrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Steps-Report-NCD-2015.pdf">2015 Kenya STEPwise Survey</a>, a nationwide study that looked at how non-communicable diseases are affecting the country. </p>
<p>What the results show is that non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and chronic respiratory illness have all skyrocketed in the country over the past ten years in the same way that they have in sub-Saharan Africa. </p>
<p>Globally, more than 16 million people die from non-communicable diseases. Of these, 80% are in low- and middle-income countries. And according to the World Health Organisation’s projections for the next ten years, <a href="http://www.afro.who.int/en/clusters-a-programmes/dpc/non-communicable-diseases-managementndm/npc-features/1236-non-communicable-diseases-an-overview-of-africas-new-silent-killers.html">28 million people</a> in sub-Saharan Africa will die from a chronic disease. </p>
<p>Responsibility to address the situation does not only lie with governments. The choices individuals make also have a huge role to play. </p>
<h2>Kenyans and Ugandans are too unhealthy</h2>
<p>Non-communicable diseases are linked to a number of risk factors, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>unhealthy diets;</p></li>
<li><p>smoking;</p></li>
<li><p>alcohol intake; and</p></li>
<li><p>a lack of exercise.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These all significantly increase the individual’s risk of dying from a non-communicable disease.</p>
<p>Though the picture isn’t pretty in Kenya, the country is not alone. In Uganda, the <a href="http://www.who.int/chp/steps/Uganda_2014_STEPS_Report.pdf">2014 Uganda STEPwise Survey</a> shows figures that are as bad. </p>
<p>Here, 88% of the population consume less than five servings of fruits and vegetables on most days. And while 70% have never had their blood pressure measured, just under a quarter suffer from high blood pressure. More than 90% have never had their diabetes or cholesterol tested. And about 19% are overweight or obese.</p>
<p>The two surveys paint a shocking picture of how East Africans are exposing themselves to the mounting risks of non-communicable diseases. </p>
<p>These surveys must be a wake-up call to governments to find better solutions to the growing crisis of non-communicable illness. But they also suggest that individuals should and can be doing more.</p>
<h2>How to change behaviour</h2>
<p>So where do individuals start? </p>
<p>These days healthy food has been replaced with tasty and, most often, easy food. Grabbing food on the run means that only <a href="http://aphrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Steps-Report-NCD-2015.pdf">6% of Kenyan adults</a> get their recommended five-a-day servings of fruits and vegetables. In <a href="http://www.who.int/chp/steps/Uganda_2014_STEPS_Report.pdf">Uganda</a> the figure is 13% for women and 12% for men. </p>
<p>Maintaining a healthy diet can help to reduce the risk of some cancers as well as the chances of being obese – which itself is a marker for all sorts of non-communicable diseases, including heart disease and diabetes.</p>
<p>A healthy diet also restricts salt intake, which for Kenyans is even more of a challenge than adding fruit and vegetables. One in four Kenyans and Ugandans add salt to their food before they even taste it. Every shake of that salt shaker carries with it a risk of high blood pressure and lasting damage to the heart, kidneys and brain.</p>
<p>High consumption of alcohol can also have an effect on weight and the organs most vulnerable to disease: the heart, the liver, the stomach and the pancreas. One in four Kenyan men <a href="http://aphrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Steps-Report-NCD-2015.pdf">drink alcohol daily</a> and one in eight are <a href="http://aphrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Steps-Report-NCD-2015.pdf">heavy drinkers</a>. </p>
<p>This means that half of men who are daily drinkers are daily heavy drinkers. Beyond the long-term damage of over-consumption, heavy drinking can also mean you – and others who share the road with you – are at higher risk of traffic accidents leading to serious injury or death.</p>
<p>Another risk factor is tobacco – smoking or being around smokers. The Tobacco Control Act in Kenya has been around since 2013. Yet one in four Kenyans is still exposed to tobacco in the workplace or in the home. </p>
<p>More than 13% of Kenyans currently smoke. And in Uganda 40% are exposed to second-hand smoke. Passive smoking – when a person is exposed to someone who smokes, even if he or she doesn’t smoke – is equally dangerous, as it heightens the risk of cancer, chronic respiratory conditions or <a href="http://www.who.int/tobacco/research/secondhand_smoke/en/">heart disease</a>.</p>
<h2>Taking action</h2>
<p>What all this means is that individuals have the responsibility to remove the risks from their lifestyles. </p>
<p>Governments, too, have a responsibility to develop systems to help people mitigate the risks.</p>
<p>Without concerted action at the systems level, the burden on overstretched health services will be even greater, and the costs of inaction will stymie economic growth and development.</p>
<p>Damage to a person’s health and body happens over the long term. It may manifest as a treatable condition, such as being overweight, or having high blood pressure or diabetes, but it can quickly deteriorate into a degree of suffering that can only be managed, not cured.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58442/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Kyobutungi receives funding from International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
</span></em></p>Non-communicable diseases are skyrocketing in Kenya and Uganda. Though the countries’ governments have a responsibility to tackle the problem, individuals need to take action too.Catherine Kyobutungi, Director of Research, African Population and Health Research CenterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.