Global food value chains and obesity in low- and middle-income countries

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are experiencing disproportional increases in overweight or obesity rates. Parallel to this trend, many LMICs are witnessing significant growth in their participation in global food value chains (GFVCs). This paper aims to shed light on the public health impl...

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Autores principales: Hashad, Reem, Lim, Sunghun, Abay, Kibrom A.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152370
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author Hashad, Reem
Lim, Sunghun
Abay, Kibrom A.
author_browse Abay, Kibrom A.
Hashad, Reem
Lim, Sunghun
author_facet Hashad, Reem
Lim, Sunghun
Abay, Kibrom A.
author_sort Hashad, Reem
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are experiencing disproportional increases in overweight or obesity rates. Parallel to this trend, many LMICs are witnessing significant growth in their participation in global food value chains (GFVCs). This paper aims to shed light on the public health implications of increasing participation in GFVCs. Leveraging macro- and micro-level data spanning 25 years, we study the relationship between countries’ participation in GFVCs and women’s overweight or obesity rates. We explore heterogeneous implications by disaggregating countries’ participation into backward and forward linkages in GFVCs, as well as across rural and urban areas. We find that temporal increases in countries’ participation in GFVCs are significantly associated with increasing overweight or obesity rates, primarily when countries participate in backward linkages and for urban populations. Participation in GFVCs involving forward linkages appears to have negligible implications, and the relationship between participation in GFVCs and obesity disappears for rural women. Furthermore, we find that an increase in countries’ participation in GFVCs is associated with an increase in consumption of energy-dense foods such as sugar, commonly linked with obesity. Our findings have important implications for informing public policies aimed at addressing the increasing obesity rates and associated economic and health burdens in LMICs. JEL Codes: F13, I10, Q17, Q18
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spelling CGSpace1523702025-10-26T12:53:05Z Global food value chains and obesity in low- and middle-income countries Hashad, Reem Lim, Sunghun Abay, Kibrom A. body mass index food supply chains global value chains obesity overweight Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are experiencing disproportional increases in overweight or obesity rates. Parallel to this trend, many LMICs are witnessing significant growth in their participation in global food value chains (GFVCs). This paper aims to shed light on the public health implications of increasing participation in GFVCs. Leveraging macro- and micro-level data spanning 25 years, we study the relationship between countries’ participation in GFVCs and women’s overweight or obesity rates. We explore heterogeneous implications by disaggregating countries’ participation into backward and forward linkages in GFVCs, as well as across rural and urban areas. We find that temporal increases in countries’ participation in GFVCs are significantly associated with increasing overweight or obesity rates, primarily when countries participate in backward linkages and for urban populations. Participation in GFVCs involving forward linkages appears to have negligible implications, and the relationship between participation in GFVCs and obesity disappears for rural women. Furthermore, we find that an increase in countries’ participation in GFVCs is associated with an increase in consumption of energy-dense foods such as sugar, commonly linked with obesity. Our findings have important implications for informing public policies aimed at addressing the increasing obesity rates and associated economic and health burdens in LMICs. JEL Codes: F13, I10, Q17, Q18 2024-08 2024-09-24T20:39:18Z 2024-09-24T20:39:18Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152370 en Limited Access Elsevier Hashad, Reem; Lim, Sunghun; and Abay, Kibrom A. 2024. Global food value chains and obesity in low- and middle-income countries. Food Policy 127(August 2024): 102710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102710
spellingShingle body mass index
food supply chains
global value chains
obesity
overweight
Hashad, Reem
Lim, Sunghun
Abay, Kibrom A.
Global food value chains and obesity in low- and middle-income countries
title Global food value chains and obesity in low- and middle-income countries
title_full Global food value chains and obesity in low- and middle-income countries
title_fullStr Global food value chains and obesity in low- and middle-income countries
title_full_unstemmed Global food value chains and obesity in low- and middle-income countries
title_short Global food value chains and obesity in low- and middle-income countries
title_sort global food value chains and obesity in low and middle income countries
topic body mass index
food supply chains
global value chains
obesity
overweight
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152370
work_keys_str_mv AT hashadreem globalfoodvaluechainsandobesityinlowandmiddleincomecountries
AT limsunghun globalfoodvaluechainsandobesityinlowandmiddleincomecountries
AT abaykibroma globalfoodvaluechainsandobesityinlowandmiddleincomecountries