WORLD BANK / FOOD PRICES OBESITY

High priced food is contributing to an obesity epidemic in developing countries as poor people increasingly rely on cheap, high caloric food products, according to the World Bank’s Food Price Watch. WORLD BANK

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:44
• Production Date: 27 March 2013
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: WORLD BANK
• Subject Topical: AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; FISHING; AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS; AGRICULTURAL POLICY; RURAL SOCIOLOGY; CROP MANAGEMENT; NUTRITION
• MAMS Id: U130327f

Description

STORY: WORLD BANK / FOOD PRICES OBESITY
TRT: 2.44
SOURCE: WORLD BANK
RESTRICTIONS: EMBARGOED: 8:01 PM EST MARCH 27, 2013
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /SPANISH / NATS

DATELINE: 27 MARCH 2013, WASHINGTON DC/ FILE

Shotlist

FILE – 2011, GUATEMALA
1. Med shot, people in line at cafeteria
2. Wide shot, people eating at cafeteria
3. Med shot, woman and child eating at cafeteria
27 MARCH 2013, WASHINGTON DC
4. SOUNDBITE (English) José Cuesta, Senior Economist, World Bank Group:
“In the world right now there are more than a billion overweight people out of which 500 million are obese. If we don’t do anything about that these numbers will double by 2030. Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for the diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension, and ultimately premature deaths. They have very high economic costs associated with medical costs, absenteeism and lowered productivity. “
FILE – 2010, CHINA
5. Med shot, man purchasing drinks
FILE – 2011, INDONESIA
6. Wide shot, woman purchasing food at market
27 MARCH 2013, WASHINGTON DC
7. SOUNDBITE (English) José Cuesta, Senior Economist, World Bank Group:
“This is not only a developed country phenomenon. It’s also prevalent in developing countries like for instance India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey or Russia. It is important because poor households typically substitute food for less nutritious and cheaper foods which are full, filled with empty calories. Responses so far have entailed either banning certain foods or ingredients as well as incentivizing healthy behaviour through awareness campaigns or taxation. But still we need to do more to integrate both domestic and global policies to stop this epidemic.”
FILE – 2012, BRAZIL
8. Med shot, woman putting fruit in bag
9. Tilt up, woman purchasing fruit
27 MARCH 2013, WASHINGTON DC
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) José Cuesta, Senior Economist, World Bank Group:
“The good news is the latest Food Price Watch finds that the prices of internationally traded food have continued to decline for six consecutive months. But the bad news is that they are still very high and that they’re very close the all-time high in August 2012. We have seen that the overweight and obesity trends have continued to expand, even as prices continued to be high, which may seem counter-intuitive but households, especially poor households, substitute their food for cheaper and less nutritious food which is filled with empty calories. “
11. FILE – 2012, TURKEY
12. Med shot, people in line at cafeteria
13. Med shot, people eating food in cafeteria

Storyline

Global food prices continued to decline for six consecutive months, but still remain very high and close to their historical peaks. The persistently high and volatile food prices not only influence conditions of hunger and undernutrition, but also obesity, which may increase in the context of high prices as people opt for cheaper, less nutritious food to feed their families, the World Bank Group’s quarterly Food Price Watch report said.
José Cuesta, Senior Economist, World Bank Group said that this phenomenon had not only serious health implications, but also carried high economic costs.
SOUNDBITE (English) José Cuesta, Senior Economist, World Bank Group:
“In the world right now there are more than a billion overweight people out of which 500 million are obese. If we don’t do anything about that these numbers will double by 2030. Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for the diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension, and ultimately premature deaths. They have very high economic costs associated with medical costs, absenteeism and lowered productivity. “
According to the latest edition of the Food Price Watch, global food prices continued to fall between October 2012 and February 2013, a trend observed since the recent all-time peak in August 2012. Nonetheless, prices were only 9% below that August peak. Lower use of wheat feed and reduced maize consumption for ethanol in the United States pushed prices down.
Reported favourable weather conditions in some regions have raised hopes of better crop supply for 2013.
Cuesta highlighted that this is not only a problem in developed countries.
SOUNDBITE (English) José Cuesta, Senior Economist, World Bank Group:
“This is not only a developed country phenomenon. It’s also prevalent in developing countries like for instance India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey or Russia. It is important because poor households typically substitute food for less nutritious and cheaper foods which are full, filled with empty calories. Responses so far have entailed either banning certain foods or ingredients as well as incentivizing healthy behaviour through awareness campaigns or taxation. But still we need to do more to integrate both domestic and global policies to stop this epidemic.”
Global stocks of cereals dropped by 3 percent in 2012, mainly due to the decline in wheat stocks and coarse grains. The continued dry conditions in Argentina, South Africa and Australia also cast doubts over supplies in the coming months. Oil prices have been on the rise for three consecutive months, marking its highest level in February since April 2012. Stronger demand from Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey, and possibly China may pressure the market.
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) José Cuesta, Senior Economist, World Bank Group:
“The good news is the latest Food Price Watch finds that the prices of internationally traded food have continued to decline for six consecutive months. But the bad news is that they are still very high and that they’re very close the all-time high in August 2012. We have seen that the overweight and obesity trends have continued to expand, even as prices continued to be high, which may seem counter-intuitive but households, especially poor households, substitute their food for cheaper and less nutritious food which is filled with empty calories. “
Despite the gravity of the problem, it is not evident that reducing obesity is among the top global policy priorities, the report said. Responses to the obesity epidemic have ranged from doing nothing to trying to promote healthier behaviours through taxes, bans or restrictions on certain foods, and awareness campaigns. There have also been extreme cases in Japan where fines have been imposed to employees exceeding certain waistline limits.