Research

Mixed

Transnational food and beverage corporations (TFBCs) drive the nutrition transition in Asia by leveraging market power to increase the availability, affordability, and desirability of ultra-processed foods, leading to rising rates of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases.

Understand that your food environment is not neutral. Transnational corporations actively shape what is available, how much it costs, and how appealing it is. To protect your health, prioritize unprocessed foods from sources less influenced by these corporate supply chains, such as local markets or home preparation, and be critical of marketing claims for ultra-processed products.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Evidence demonstrates that TFBCs can leverage their market power to shape food systems in ways that alter the availability, price, nutritional quality, desirability and ultimately consumption of such foods.
Phillip Baker et al. · Globalization and Health · 2016

Why this rating

Based on comprehensive market data analysis across 12 Asian countries, though it is an observational/ecological study rather than a randomized controlled trial.

Source

Food systems transformations, ultra-processed food markets and the nutrition transition in Asia

Phillip Baker et al. · Globalization and Health · 2016

DOI 10.1186/s12992-016-0223-3

narrative_reviewCited 378×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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