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The scourge of industrially manufactured edible products is a worldwide phenomenon. Although their use is notably greater in developed countries, constituting the majority of the usual nourishment in the UK and the US, for example, UPFs are replacing fresh food in diets on all corners of the globe.

This month, an extensive international analysis on the risks to physical condition of UPFs was published. It cautioned that such foods are leaving millions of people to persistent health issues, and urged swift intervention. Earlier this year, an international child welfare organization revealed that an increased count of kids around the world were overweight than underweight for the historic moment, as junk food dominates diets, with the sharpest climbs in less affluent regions.

Carlos Monteiro, an academic specializing in dietary health at the a major educational institution in Brazil, and one of the analysis's writers, says that companies focused on earnings, not consumer preferences, are driving the shift in eating patterns.

For parents, it can appear that the entire food system is opposing them. “Sometimes it feels like we have absolutely no power over what we are putting on our children's meals,” says one mother from India. We spoke to her and four other parents from internationally on the increasing difficulties and frustrations of ensuring a healthy diet in the time of manufactured foods.

Nepal: ‘She Craves Cookies, Chocolate and Juice’

Bringing up a child in Nepal today often feels like fighting a losing battle, especially when it comes to food. I prepare meals at home as much as I can, but the instant my daughter steps outside, she is surrounded by brightly packaged snacks and sugar-laden liquids. She continually yearns for cookies, chocolates and packaged fruit juices – products aggressively advertised to children. Just one pizza commercial on TV is sufficient for her to ask, “Are we getting pizza today?”

Even the school environment perpetuates unhealthy habits. Her cafeteria serves sugary juice every Tuesday, which she anxiously anticipates. She is given a small package of biscuits from a friend on the school bus and chocolates on birthdays, and encounters a chip shop right outside her school gate.

On certain occasions it feels like the complete dietary landscape is opposing parents who are just striving to raise healthy children.

As someone employed by the a national health coalition and leading a project called Promoting Healthy Foods in Schools, I understand this issue profoundly. Yet even with my knowledge, keeping my school-age girl healthy is incredibly difficult.

These repeated exposures at school, in transit and online make it nearly impossible for parents to restrict ultra-processed foods. It is not just about what kids pick; it is about a dietary structure that encourages and advocates for unhealthy eating.

And the figures reflects exactly what parents in my situation are going through. A demographic health study found that over two-thirds of children between six and 23 months ate junk food, and nearly half were already drinking sweetened beverages.

These numbers are reflected in what I see every day. An analysis conducted in the area where I live reported that almost one in five of schoolchildren were overweight and 7.1% were suffering from obesity, figures strongly correlated with the increase in processed food intake and less active lifestyles. Further research showed that many kids in Nepal eat sweet snacks or processed savoury foods nearly every day, and this frequent intake is associated with high levels of tooth decay.

The country urgently needs tighter rules, healthier school environments and tougher advertising controls. Before that happens, 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 position is a bit particular as I was had to evacuate from an island in our group of isles that was destroyed by a major hurricane last year. But it is also part of the harsh truth that is affecting parents in a area that is feeling the gravest consequences of climate change.

“Conditions definitely becomes more severe if a cyclone or volcano activity wipes out most of your crops.”

Even before the storm, as a dietary educator, I was extremely troubled about the rising expansion of convenience food outlets. Nowadays, even smaller village shops are participating in the change of a country once known for a diet of fresh regional fruits and vegetables, to one where oily, salted, sweetened fast food, loaded with artificial ingredients, is the favorite.

But the condition definitely deteriorates if a severe weather event or mountain activity decimates most of your produce. Nutritious whole foods becomes rare and extremely pricey, so it is exceptionally hard to get your kids to have a proper diet.

Regardless of having a regular work I wince at food prices now and have often resorted to picking one of items such as peas and beans and animal products when feeding my four children. Offering reduced portions or reduced helpings have also become part of the post-disaster coping strategies.

Also it is very easy 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. Sadly, most educational snack bars only offer highly packaged treats and sweet fizzy drinks. The result of these challenges, I fear, is an rise in the already widespread prevalence of non-communicable illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

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

The logo of a international restaurant franchise stands prominently at the entrance of a shopping center in a Kampala neighbourhood, challenging you to pass by without stopping at the takeaway window.

Many of the youngsters and guardians visiting the mall have never gone beyond the borders of Uganda. They certainly don’t know about the historical economic crisis that motivated the founder to start one of the first global eatery brands. All they know is that the brand name represent all things desirable.

Throughout commercial complexes and all local bazaars, there is convenience meals for all budgets. As one of the costlier choices, the fried chicken chain is considered a luxury. It is the place Kampala’s families go to mark birthdays and baptisms. It is the children’s prize when they get a positive academic results. In fact, they are hoping their parents take them there for festive celebrations.

“Mum, do you know that some people pack fried chicken for school lunch,” my 14-year-old daughter, 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 local quick-service outlet selling everything from fried breakfasts to burgers.

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