Brightly coloured soda bottles placed at eye level.
Shelves bursting with flamboyant bags of chips and instant noodles.
Bright banners screaming “discount”.
This is what most children see when they first walk into a supermarket or convenience store in East Asia and the Pacific.
Farisha, a 17-year-old from Malaysia, visits the supermarket at least once a week with her dad, shopping for groceries and snacks. “If it’s on discount, like half price, I’ll definitely buy it. It saves money, and sometimes I buy more because it can last for a long time.”
Farahni, 18, a high school student, doesn’t visit supermarkets too often, but when she does, she often buys snacks like chips, soda, chocolates, and the occasional yogurt. She admits that bright-coloured banners and flashy promotions capture her attention. “If I see something that I like or if I’m craving it, I’ll probably get it, especially if there’s a discount,” she says.
Clearly, flashiness and discounts capture children’s attention and influence their food choices.
A systemic problem
We are not surprised that child obesity is becoming more common in the region. Traveling across East Asia and the Pacific, the same patterns are noticeable just about everywhere: unhealthy processed foods are endlessly promoted. Food and beverage companies and retailers have created a food system that is earning them millions, but is harming our children – and it has to stop.
UNICEF’s partnership with Deakin University on Reshaping Urban Retail Food Environments in the East Asia and Pacific Region (RESHAPE Initiative) recently released new research which shows that over the last 15 years, the number of supermarkets per person in East Asia and the Pacific grew by 52.5%, faster than in any other region in the world.
Unsurprisingly, the sales of unhealthy food per person also continued to rise over the same period. As a result, obesity rates are increasing, especially among children. In fact, Asia and the Pacific is now home to the highest number of children with obesity worldwide.
This study underscores the urgent need for action by governments, retailers, investors and advocates. We have seen around the world that once supermarkets and convenience stores dominate, it is very hard to change the retail food environment. The next generation deserves retail food environments that support healthier lives, rather than contribute to a lifetime of chronic disease.
Young people’s experience of shopping for food in Asia
Young people are experiencing the impacts of these changes in the places they shop every day. For families, and particularly those on a tighter budget, promotions on unhealthy foods offer a tempting deal. Farisha also mentions that foods like instant noodles are easy to grab when she’s in a rush. The convenience and low price make them attractive, but they are unhealthy: high in salt, preservatives and energy, and low in vegetables.
Although everyone makes a choice about the food they buy and eat, the food system is clearly setting us up to eat unhealthy foods. Retailers and food companies promote unhealthy products as they are more profitable than fresh produce. For children and adolescents who are still developing their food habits, exposure to these foods has become the norm - and it’s increasingly hard for them to imagine another way of eating and buying food.
When we look at obesity through the lens of food systems, it’s clear that everything is leading to the growing popularity of unhealthy diets, from the way food is produced to the way it is marketed. It’s neither children’s fault, nor their parents’. It's time to address this systemic failure.
Shifting the focus
This year’s theme for World Obesity Day, ‘Changing Systems, Healthier Lives’, reminds us that the focus needs to shift away from blaming individuals for their food choices. The spotlight should instead be directed at the systems that are failing us: the shops appearing on every street corner that are packed with unhealthy foods, the food production systems that prioritize cheap, energy-dense products, and the lack of policy action by governments to create healthier spaces for all.
We need to transform the places that young people are shopping in. Supermarkets should promote healthier foods at lower prices, and to get there, policies need to rein in the marketing of unhealthy foods targeting children. This requires systemic change, not just for the sake of adolescents like Farahni and Farisha, but for all children across East Asia and the Pacific.
The path forward
Adolescents’ reliance on shopping at supermarkets, convenience stores and online will certainly continue to grow. The question is, will they still be filled with unhealthy, highly processed foods, or will the retail environment shift towards healthier options that are also affordable, appealing and easily available?
On this World Obesity Day, let’s remember that it’s not people who need fixing—it’s systems. We owe it to the next generation to create food environments that support healthier lives, not ones that contribute to a lifetime of chronic diseases. By working together—governments, retailers, communities, health advocates and academic partners —we can change these systems and build a healthier future for everyone.
