Manufacturing epidemics: the role of global producers in increased consumption of unhealthy commodities including processed foods, alcohol, and tobacco

‘‘Unhealthy commodities’’—soft drinks and processed foods that are high in salt, fat, and sugar, as well as tobacco and alcohol—are leading risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Their consumption is thought to be rising rapidly, particularly in LMICs [1]. However, the extent of and reasons for this growth in unhealthy commodity consumption are not well understood. Many epidemiologists have argued that economic development pushes populations through a ‘‘nutrition transition’’ from undernutrition to overnutrition, shifting food preferences from traditional diets characterised by low salt, saturated fat, and glycaemic indexes to less healthy, complex western diets that lead to obesity and associated NCDs [2].