Falling price of processed foods fuelling obesity crisis, says study

Overseas Development Institute says taxes on unhealthy foods matched by subsidies on healthier alternatives could reverse obesity trend

The decades-long trend for “unhealthy” foods to get cheaper while fruit and vegetables become more expensive is fuelling the global obesity crisis, according to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) thinktank in London.

It says relative prices for fruit and veg in Brazil, China, Korea and Mexico soared by up to 91% between 1990 and 2012 while prices of some processed foods such as ready meals fell by up to 20% in the same period.

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