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The plague of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is truly global. Even though their consumption is notably greater in the west, making up the majority of the average diet in the UK and the US, for example, UPFs are displacing whole foods in diets on all corners of the globe.

Recently, the world’s largest review on the health threats of UPFs was issued. It alerted that such foods are exposing millions of people to chronic damage, and urged immediate measures. Previously in the year, a global fund for children revealed that an increased count of kids around the world were obese than underweight for the historic moment, as junk food overwhelms diets, with the sharpest climbs in low- and middle-income countries.

Carlos Monteiro, professor of public health nutrition at the a prominent Brazilian university, and one of the study's contributors, says that profit-driven corporations, not personal decisions, are fueling the transformation in dietary behavior.

For parents, it can appear that the entire food system is opposing them. “On occasion it feels like we have no authority over what we are serving on our kid’s plate,” says one mother from the Indian subcontinent. We interviewed her and four other parents from around the world on the growing challenges and frustrations of supplying a nutritious food regimen in the age of UPFs.

The Situation in Nepal: A Constant Craving for Sweets

Raising a child in this South Asian country 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 moment my daughter leaves the house, she is bombarded with colorfully presented snacks and sugar-laden liquids. She persistently desires cookies, chocolates and bottled fruit beverages – products aggressively advertised to children. A single pizza commercial on TV is enough for her to ask, “Can we have pizza today?”

Even the academic atmosphere encourages unhealthy habits. Her canteen serves sweetened fruit juice every Tuesday, which she eagerly awaits. She receives a small package of biscuits from a friend on the school bus and chocolates on birthdays, and faces a french fry stand right outside her school gate.

Some days it feels like the complete dietary landscape is working against parents who are simply trying to raise well-nourished kids.

As someone working in the an organization fighting chronic illnesses and heading a project called Advocating for Better School Diets, I understand this issue deeply. Yet even with my professional background, keeping my school-age girl healthy is exceptionally hard.

These ongoing experiences at school, in transit and online make it almost unfeasible for parents to limit ultra-processed foods. It is not only about children’s choices; it is about a food system that normalises and fosters unhealthy eating.

And the data mirrors precisely what families like mine are facing. A demographic health study found that 69% of children between six and 23 months ate poor dietary items, and a substantial portion were already drinking sugary drinks.

These statistics echo what I see every day. An analysis conducted in the area where I live reported that a notable percentage of schoolchildren were overweight and 7.1% were clinically overweight, figures directly linked with the increase in unhealthy snacking and less active lifestyles. Another study showed that many youngsters of the country eat sugary treats or manufactured savory snacks almost daily, and this regular consumption is associated with high levels of tooth decay.

The country urgently needs more robust regulations, better nutritional atmospheres in schools and more stringent promotion limits. Before that happens, families will continue engaging in an ongoing struggle against processed items – an individual snack bag at a time.

Caribbean Challenges: When Fast Food Becomes the Default

My circumstances is a bit particular as I was compelled to move from an island in our archipelago that was devastated by a powerful storm last year. But it is also part of the bleak situation that is facing parents in a region that is experiencing the very worst effects of environmental shifts.

“The circumstances definitely becomes more severe if a cyclone or volcano activity destroys most of your crops.”

Even before the storm, as a dietary educator, I was extremely troubled about the growing spread of quick-service eateries. Nowadays, even community markets are participating in the transformation of a country once known for a diet of fresh regional fruits and vegetables, to one where fatty, briny, candied fast food, packed with synthetic components, is the favorite.

But the situation definitely deteriorates if a natural disaster or mountain activity wipes out most of your produce. Unprocessed ingredients becomes hard to find and extremely pricey, so it is incredibly challenging to get your kids to have a proper diet.

Regardless of having a regular work I am shocked by food prices now and have often opted for choosing between 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-crisis adaptation techniques.

Also it is quite convenient when you are balancing a stressful occupation with parenting, and rushing around in the morning, to just give the children a little money to buy snacks at school. Unfortunately, most educational snack bars only offer manufactured munchies and carbonated beverages. The consequence of these challenges, I fear, is an rise in the already widespread prevalence of non-communicable illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

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

The logo of a major fried chicken chain stands prominently at the entrance of a mall in a Kampala neighbourhood, tempting you to pass by without stopping at the takeaway window.

Many of the children and parents visiting the mall have never gone beyond the borders of this East African nation. 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 famous acronym represent all things desirable.

Throughout commercial complexes and all local bazaars, there is convenience meals for every pocket. As one of the pricier selections, the fried chicken chain is considered a special occasion. It is the place local households go to celebrate birthdays and baptisms. It is the children’s incentive when they get a good school report. In fact, they are hoping their parents take them there for festive celebrations.

“Mother, do you know that some people bring takeaway 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 regional restaurant brand selling everything from morning meals to burgers.

It is the end of the week, and I am only {half-listening|