'Empty calories' capture even poor countries, scientists say

Products with the so-called 'empty calories' have reached even the most remote and poorest regions of the planet. The people of Asia and Africa are already actively consuming fast food, which has led to a surge in obesity in these countries, The Lancet reported.

Scientists have been talking about the dangers of 'empty calories' (soda, chips, crackers, etc.) for a long time: such products do not have health benefits, but they give the body a huge amount of extra calories and contribute to the appearance of excess weight.

For a long time, it was assumed that the problem of 'empty calories' is relevant only for the rich countries, then it moved to middle-income countries, and then to remote corners of the planet. New studies show that the poorest countries in Africa and Asia are suffering from them, in which the obesity epidemic has also begun.

The crisis with obesity is due to easy access to very cheap and high-calorie foods, as scientists emphasize. According to researchers from the University of North Carolina and the World Health Organization, obesity, which spreads together the epidemic of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer, has spread to all corners of the planet. Scientists have made their conclusions based on information from 126 states.

So many overweight and obese people were not in the poorest countries of Latin America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and Asia, and now obesity reaches even Africa, which has always suffered from hunger. The 48 poorest countries have problems with malnutrition and obesity, the study showed. Fast food restaurant chains, which provide the population with very junk food, have reached even the most isolated countries of the world. And to counter this is quite difficult, because along with the harmfulness of these products are cheap, that is, they are a quick and inexpensive way to get enough for a huge number of people.

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