Globalization and nutrition transition in developing countries like Ghana have significantly altered traditional Ghanaian diets. The well-known Ghanaian dishes are increasingly being replaced by foods high in fats and sweeteners. Many now prefer to purchase pizzas, burgers, and sugar-sweetened beverages, among other processed foods, as their go-to options. Nutrition transition refers to the ongoing trends […]
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Ghana needs to prioritize food environments and make them healthier
Ghana’s current food environment is characterized by a plethora of easily accessible unhealthy foods which negatively impacts the food choices and health of Ghanaians. Food environments’ is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) “as an interface that mediates one’s food acquisition and consumption with the wider food system, encompassing dimensions such as the […]
Read MoreAccra-based retailers call the food they sell “Junk”. A recent academic report
Our recent study published in the Frontiers in Public Health reported that some “…retailers described the food they sell as “junk”. The study was conducted in the greater Accra region by a group of researchers from the School of Public Health of the University of Ghana. The study sought among others to assess Accra-based retailers’ […]
Read MorePredatory marketing of unhealthy foods to children is unethical, should be made illegal in Ghana
Childhood obesity is on the rise across the world. Between 1975 and 2016, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children has increased from 4% to 18% globally.1 The increase is observed almost everywhere (low- and middle-income countries, and high-income countries), particularly within urban area.2 In 2016, more than 340 million children and adolescents (5-19 […]
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