Africa A tale of two lakes

The rising rate in the consumption of food high in salt, fats and sugar — but low in nutrients — is one of the drivers behind the increase in the obesity rate, the Child Gauge 2020 report has found.

With 13% of children under the age of five being overweight or obese, they are now at an increased risk of developing a chronic illness such as diabetes and heart disease.

In 2019, researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand analysed the sugar content in most commercially available baby foods such as cereal and processed purees, targeted at children under one year old.

The study’s findings showed that cereals had added sugar, while pureed and fruit desserts meant children had increased sugar levels equivalent to four teaspoons of sugar, or 20 grammes or more per serving.

These high sugar contents are behind calls for stricter control measures on the food industry to ensure that the food system adopts an approach that puts children at the centre, as called for in the report.

Dr Scott Drimie from the South African Food Lab said that political commitment would be needed in regulating the food environment, to make it easier for consumers to make more healthy food choices.

Without this commitment, enforcing the existing legislation such as the “sugar tax” would be a futile task if left to the food industry to self-regulate, Drimie argues.

“Creating an enabling environment for good nutrition demands far more than just recognising this influence and moving towards action. Senior officials at the national level do recognise this, but acknowledge how difficult it can be in practice.

“Without commitment and direction from the highest level in the state, enforcing regulation is often left to self-regulation, or at best threats of action and more stringent regulations in the future.”

Drimie also highlighted the current uncoordinated approach between the national and local governments, where local businesses such as spaza shops are often unregulated.

The 2013 Food and Nutrition Security Policy aims to ensure the availability, accessibility and affordability of safe, nutritious food at national and household levels.

According to Thulani Masilela from the department of planning, monitoring and evaluation, the plan is set to be reviewed in parliament to ensure that it meets children’s current nutritional needs.