A recent study has reviewed the main determinants of obesity and discussed how they impact obesity rates in Latin America. The review identifies eight determinants of obesity; physical environment, food exposure, economic and political interest, social inequality, limited access to scientific knowledge, culture, contextual behaviour and genetics. The authors analyse these determinants in the context of Latin America to provide evidence and guidance for public policy and strategy aimed at understanding and slowing the growth rate of obesity. 

This book explores the origins, science and economics of Ultra-Processed Foods and unpacks the effects that the increased dependence on these foods is having on human and environmental health. The book questions narratives of individual choice and responsibility, demonstrating instead how the increased consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods is driven by addiction, big business and a limiting food environment. A series of solutions for doctors, policy makers, and consumers are presented in order to take action against on a global scale.

This book provides a behind-the-scenes look at the current food system and its destructive nature. Author Henry Dimbleby explains not just why he thinks the food system is a disaster waiting to happen, but what can be done about it.

There has been a lot of discussion about the health and environmental benefits and risks of animal-source foods (which include meat, fish, eggs and dairy). This paper examined the current evidence on these benefits and risks, finding that these impacts vary massively depending on local context and population development.

This paper estimates that plant-based diets can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by improving blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and body weight in comparison to traditional meat-containing omnivorous diets. However, it is less clear whether these same benefits are consistent in diets containing processed meat alternatives.

The Food Compass scoring system is an algorithm developed by researchers at Tufts University to assess the healthfulness of different food types. It has attracted some controversy on social media because of its counterintuitive rankings of some foods. This paper finds that following a diet that scores higher on the Food Compass system is linked to better outcomes on several aspects of health as well as all-cause mortality.

This paper reviews the evidence on how consumption of sustainable diets links to the risk of cancer in adults. It identified eight cohort studies, which were conducted in Europe and the United States and which used differing definitions of sustainable diets including definitions based on greenhouse gas emissions, food biodiversity, land use, pesticide exposure, adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet and score on a sustainability index. Most studies showed a modest correlation between higher adherence to sustainable diets and lower incidence of cancer and cancer mortality. However, most of the studies were considered to have a serious risk of bias because of confounding factors.

In this book, epidemiologist Tim Spector sets out his approach to nutrition. He describes the importance of the microbiome, explores which foods are really “healthy” and “unhealthy” and discusses the impacts of food consumption on the environment. The book also contains many short chapters dedicated to specific food types, including fruit, legumes, fungi, meat and fermented dairy.

This paper estimates the global and regional prevalence of certain micronutrient deficiencies in two population groups that are particularly vulnerable to such deficiencies. By analysing 24 datasets, it estimates that, globally, around 56% of preschool-aged children are deficient in at least one of iron, zinc and vitamin A, and that 69% of non-pregnant women of reproductive age are deficient in at least one of iron, zinc and folate.