The percentage of population suffering from overweight or obesity is increasing worldwide, both in developed and developing countries, and for all subpopulations of age and gender (although data on the incidence of those problems seem to differ somewhat across sources of estimates. This paper attempts to shed some light on a specific debate: the role of consumption of different types of packaged foods and soft drinks on obesity trends. The paper is organized as follows. First, there is a discussion of other studies on drivers of obesity that can help to better frame the analysis in this paper. Second, we present the data utilized and the econometric approach utilized. Third, we present the results. A final section concludes.

Obesity is a global public health problem of crucial importance. Obesity rates remain high in high-income countries and are rapidly increasing in low- and middle- income countries. Concurrently, the global consumption of unhealthy products, such as soft drinks and processed foods, continues to rise. The ongoing expansion of multinational food and beverage companies, or ‘Big Food’, is a key factor behind these trends. This collection provides critical insight into the global expansion of ‘Big Food’, including its incursion into low-and-middle income countries. It examines the changing dynamics of the global food supply, and discusses how low-income countries can alter the ‘Big Food’-diet from the bottom-up. It examines a number of issues related to ‘Big Food’ marketing strategies, including the way in which they advertise to youths and the rural poor. These issues are discussed in terms of their public health implications, and their relation to public health activities, for example ‘soda taxes’, and the promotion of nutritionally-healthier products. This book was originally published as a special issue of Critical Public Health.

This demonization of the overweight by the media and politicians is unrelenting. Sarah Boseley, the Guardian's award-winning health editor, argues it's time we understood the complex reality of what makes us fat. Speaking to behavioural scientists and industry experts, yo-yo dieters and people who have gone under the knife,Boseley builds a picture of an obesogenic society - one where we're constantly bombarded by the twin evils of big budget food marketing and the diet industry. Filled with in-depth, original reporting, Boseley reveals just how widespread the problem is - 1 in 4 of us are obese - and makes the case that it is time to fundamentally change the way we live. The Shape We're In is essential reading for anyone interested in their health and the health of their children.

Soft drinks have been in the news a lot lately, with many cities around the United States trying to minimize the intake of soda among their citizens. Readers will learn why there is such a backlash against soda. These sugary drinks are a favorite among people of all ages, but drinking too much is unhealthy. The solution may seem to be to drink diet soda or sugar-free options, but even these have problems. Readers will be armed with the knowledge of what soft drinks do to the body, and the impact of what they are really drinking.

A food industry insider blows the whistle on American food corporations, discussing how the board room decisions and slick marketing machines of restaurant chains and food packagers have spurred the obesity epidemic and created the nation's most serious health crisis.

In "Food Fight," one of the world's best-known and most respected experts on nutrition, obesity, and eating disorders delivers the sobering message that America is quickly succumbing to a "toxic" food environment guaranteed to produce obesity, disability, and death.

From renowned cardiac surgeon Steven R. Gundry, MD, the New York Times bestselling The Plant Paradox is a revolutionary look at the hidden compounds in "healthy" foods like fruit, vegetables, and whole grains that are causing us to gain weight and develop chronic disease. Most of us have heard of gluten—a protein found in wheat that causes widespread inflammation in the body. Americans spend billions of dollars on gluten-free diets in an effort to protect their health. But what if we’ve been missing the root of the problem? In The Plant Paradox, renowned cardiologist Dr. Steven Gundry reveals that gluten is just one variety of a common, and highly toxic, plant-based protein called lectin. Lectins are found not only in grains like wheat but also in the “gluten-free” foods most of us commonly regard as healthy, including many fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and conventional dairy products. These proteins, which are found in the seeds, grains, skins, rinds, and leaves of plants, are designed by nature to protect them from predators (including humans). Once ingested, they incite a kind of chemical warfare in our bodies, causing inflammatory reactions that can lead to weight gain and serious health conditions. At his waitlist-only clinics in California, Dr. Gundry has successfully treated tens of thousands of patients suffering from autoimmune disorders, diabetes, leaky gut syndrome, heart disease, and neurodegenerative diseases with a protocol that detoxes the cells, repairs the gut, and nourishes the body. Now, in The Plant Paradox, he shares this clinically proven program with readers around the world. The simple (and daunting) fact is, lectins are everywhere. Thankfully, Dr. Gundry offers simple hacks we easily can employ to avoid them, including: Peel your veggies. Most of the lectins are contained in the skin and seeds of plants; simply peeling and de-seeding vegetables (like tomatoes and peppers) reduces their lectin content. Shop for fruit in season. Fruit contain fewer lectins when ripe, so eating apples, berries, and other lectin-containing fruits at the peak of ripeness helps minimize your lectin consumption. Swap your brown rice for white. Whole grains and seeds with hard outer coatings are designed by nature to cause digestive distress—and are full of lectins. With a full list of lectin-containing foods and simple substitutes for each, a step-by-step detox and eating plan, and delicious lectin-free recipes, The Plant Paradox illuminates the hidden dangers lurking in your salad bowl—and shows you how to eat whole foods in a whole new way.