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T plague of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is an international crisis. Even though their intake is particularly high in the west, forming more than half the typical food intake in nations like Britain and America, for example, UPFs are displacing fresh food in diets on all corners of the globe.

This month, a comprehensive global study on the dangers to well-being of UPFs was published. It warned that such foods are exposing millions of people to long-term harm, and urged immediate measures. In a prior announcement, a major children's agency revealed that a greater number of youngsters around the world were overweight than malnourished for the first time, as unhealthy snacks floods diets, with the sharpest climbs in developing nations.

Carlos Monteiro, an academic specializing in dietary health at the University of São Paulo, and one of the analysis's writers, says that profit-driven corporations, not individual choices, are driving the shift in eating patterns.

For parents, it can seem as if the whole nutritional landscape is working against them. “Sometimes it feels like we have no authority over what we are putting on our child's dish,” says one mother from India. We spoke to her and four other parents from internationally on the increasing difficulties and annoyances of providing a balanced nourishment in the era of ultra-processing.

Nepal: ‘She Craves Cookies, Chocolate and Juice’

Bringing up a child in this South Asian country today often feels like battling an uphill struggle, especially when it comes to food. I make food at home as much as I can, but the moment my daughter goes out, she is surrounded by colorfully presented snacks and sweetened beverages. She continually yearns for cookies, chocolates and packaged fruit juices – products heavily marketed to children. A single pizza commercial on TV is all it takes for her to ask, “Can we have pizza today?”

Even the school environment perpetuates unhealthy habits. Her canteen serves flavored drink every Tuesday, which she eagerly awaits. She gets a six-piece biscuit pack from a friend on the school bus and chocolates on birthdays, and confronts a snack bar right outside her school gate.

On certain occasions it feels like the entire food environment is undermining parents who are merely attempting to raise fit youngsters.

As someone associated with the an organization fighting chronic illnesses and heading a project called Promoting Healthy Foods in Schools, I grasp this issue thoroughly. Yet even with my professional background, keeping my young child healthy is exceptionally hard.

These repeated exposures at school, in transit and online make it next to unattainable for parents to restrict ultra-processed foods. It is not only about children’s choices; it is about a food system that makes standard and promotes unhealthy eating.

And the statistics mirrors precisely what parents in my situation are facing. A demographic health study found that a significant majority of children between six and 23 months ate junk food, and a substantial portion were already drinking sugary drinks.

These figures echo what I see every day. Research conducted in the region where I live reported that a notable percentage of schoolchildren were above a healthy size and 7.1% were suffering from obesity, figures closely associated with the rise in unhealthy snacking and more sedentary lifestyles. Additional analysis showed that many Nepali children eat sugary treats or salty packaged items nearly every day, and this regular consumption is associated with high levels of dental cavities.

This nation urgently needs stronger policies, healthier school environments and tougher advertising controls. Until then, families will continue waging a constant war against processed items – an individual snack bag at a time.

St Vincent and the Grenadines: ‘Greasy, Salty, Sugary Fast Food is the Preference’

My situation is a bit unique as I was forced to relocate from an island in our archipelago that was ravaged by a major hurricane last year. But it is also part of the bleak situation that is confronting parents in a part of the world that is enduring the very worst effects of climate change.

“Conditions definitely becomes more severe if a hurricane or volcanic eruption destroys most of your vegetation.”

Prior to the storm, as a nutrition instructor, I was deeply concerned about the increasing proliferation of convenience food outlets. Currently, even community markets are involved in the shift of a country once known for a diet of healthy locally grown fruits and vegetables, to one where oily, salted, sweetened fast food, loaded with artificial ingredients, is the preference.

But the condition definitely intensifies if a natural disaster or mountain activity decimates most of your vegetation. Fresh, healthy food becomes hard to find and extremely pricey, so it is really difficult to get your kids to eat right.

In spite of having a steady job I flinch at food prices now and have often opted for selecting from items such as peas and beans and animal products when feeding my four children. Offering reduced portions or smaller servings have also become part of the post-disaster coping strategies.

Also it is quite convenient when you are managing a demanding job with parenting, and hurrying about in the morning, to just give the children a small amount of cash to buy snacks at school. Unfortunately, most school tuck shops only offer highly packaged treats and carbonated beverages. The consequence of these difficulties, I fear, is an rise in the already alarming levels of non-communicable illnesses such as blood sugar disorders and cardiovascular strain.

Uganda: ‘It’s in Every Mall and Every Market’

The sign of a major fried chicken chain looms large at the entrance of a commercial complex in a city district, daring you to pass by without stopping at the drive-through.

Many of the children and parents visiting the mall have never ventured outside the borders of the country. They certainly don’t know about the past financial depression that motivated the founder to start one of the first American international food chains. All they know is that the three letters represent all things desirable.

Throughout commercial complexes and every market, there is convenience meals for all budgets. As one of the pricier selections, the fried chicken chain is considered a treat. It is the place local households go to mark birthdays and baptisms. It is the children’s incentive when they get a positive academic results. In fact, they are hoping their parents take them there for the holidays.

“Mom, do you know that some people bring fast food for school lunch,” my teenage girl, who attends a school in the area, tells me. She says that on the days they do not pack that, they pack food from a popular east African fast-food chain selling everything from fried breakfasts to burgers.

It is the weekend, and I am only {half-listening|