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Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- In keeping with their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to health, States should formulate and implement a national public health strategy and plan of action to address diet-related NCDs, which should be widely disseminated. Such a strategy should recognize the link between unhealthy foods and NCDs, while specifically addressing the structural flaws in food production, marketing and retail that promote the availability and accessibility of unhealthy foods over healthier options. Towards this end, States should necessarily develop multisectoral approaches that include all relevant ministries such as ministries of health, agriculture, finance, industry and trade. States should also ensure meaningful and effective participation of affected communities such as farmers and vulnerable groups like children, women and low-income groups in all levels of decision-making to discourage production and consumption of unhealthy foods and promote the availability and accessibility of healthier food options.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Studies have shown that the food industry uses various strategies to undermine public health nutrition efforts. For example, the food industry hires prominent academics for their advisory boards, which may result in findings being more favourable towards the food industry, with the danger that the food industry may use such biased findings to support its claims on nutrition. Other tactics include the funding of front groups (that appear independent, yet are controlled by other organizations), lobbying and instituting lawsuits and threats thereof. It has also been shown that, under the guise of corporate social responsibility to meet their ethical obligations towards society at large, big soft drink companies have attempted to shift the burden of the responsibility to make healthier choices onto consumers instead of addressing their role in creating an unhealthy food environment. Furthermore, corporate social responsibility has also been used by the big soft drink industry as a means to thwart attempts at government regulation and increase sales of their products, particularly to children. Such acts result in a negation of the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Nutrition, an underlying determinant of the right to health, is essential to children's health, survival and development. Adequate nutrition begins in utero, since the nutritional status of woman shortly before and during pregnancy can affect the health and healthy development of the child after birth.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- States should encourage community health programmes on diet-related NCDs, such as peer education, community gardening and cooking initiatives, or healthy eating initiatives based at schools, workplaces, primary health-care centres or food vendors. Since addressing the risk factors of NCDs involves long-term behavioural change, ownership of health policies by local communities can ensure the success and sustainability of nutrition and preventive health programmes. The participation of local communities ensures that health policies and programmes are better targeted to their health needs. Including children's involvement and input in school lunch programmes can help identify options that are both healthy and appealing to children, and has often shown that the perception that children prefer unhealthy options is inaccurate. Local participation by residents of low-income areas may help provide an assessment of foods available in those areas that is more reflective of the day-to-day experiences of residents than expert-formulated surveys would be able to establish. Likewise, educating and involving consumers and informal sector food vendors in healthy food programmes can improve nutrition in a sector that is otherwise difficult to regulate, while also allowing such vendors to maintain their livelihoods.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Children are particularly vulnerable in conflict due to poor hygiene and food insecurity. Malnutrition, in particular, undermines children's immunity and resistance to preventable and communicable diseases, such as diarrhoea or malaria. The breakdown of disease surveillance and vaccination systems also contributes to the vulnerability of children to ill-health and hinders their right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 65c
- Paragraph text
- [With a view to ensuring their obligation to realize the right to health of vulnerable groups such as children, women and low-income groups, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States take the following steps:] Ensure that social welfare schemes for low-income groups make relevant information available and provide access to healthier food options to eliminate "food deserts".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- To prevent harm to people's health and fulfil their obligation under the right to health, States should put in place national policies to regulate advertising of unhealthy foods. States should formulate laws and a regulatory framework with the objective of reducing children's exposure to powerful food and drink marketing. Such regulations should ensure that the food industry provide accurate and reader-friendly nutrition information when advertising their products.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The responsibility to respect the right to health requires the food industry to refrain from engaging in activities that negatively impact the right of people to the highest attainable standard of health. Where States have enacted legislation as part of national health policies to discourage consumption of unhealthy foods and promote healthier options, the food industry has the responsibility to comply with such laws and desist from undertaking activities that would undermine these policies. They should take measures to prevent, mitigate and remedy adverse impacts of their actions. For example, in light of the negative impact of food marketing and promotion activities on children's diets, the food industry has the responsibility to refrain from advertising unhealthy products to children in accordance with national laws and regulations. Failure to exercise such restraint under domestic law may amount not only to a violation of the law, but also of the right to health. Similarly, the food industry should desist from promoting false or misleading health claims about their products, consistent with their responsibility to respect the right to health. Health claims about food products have often been shown to be unverifiable and deceptive about relative health benefits. Moreover, even where unhealthy ingredients like sugar and fat content are replaced with refined starch and promoted as "healthier" food options, they are still processed foods with minor improvement in nutritional quality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 66b
- Paragraph text
- [Recognizing the role of the food industry in the growing burden of NCDs, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the food industry take the following steps:] Refrain from marketing, promoting and advertising of unhealthy foods to the population, especially to children;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- After birth, adequate nutrition can be supported by the initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for six months and continued breastfeeding through to the second year of life, nutritional supplementation and ensuring the availability of and access to healthy and culturally appropriate diets for infants and young children, including by improving food security. Infant and young child feeding is a key area in improving child survival and promoting healthy growth and development. The first two years of a child's life are particularly important, as optimal nutrition during this period lowers morbidity and mortality, reduces the risk of chronic disease and fosters better development overall.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Infants
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Meaningful participation has public health benefits and also empowers people in accordance with the right to health approach. States should ensure that spaces are available for children and their parents to provide input on school foods, employees to give input on food at the workplace, or by enabling community or consumer groups to be involved in standard-setting. States should seek broad public consultation to inform policies across sectors, including on agricultural production policies, the regulation of unhealthy foods, nutritional standards in public institutions and for monitoring transparency in food labelling, marketing or promotion.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Unhealthy foods are commonly marketed in gendered ways, perpetuating traditional and unequal gender dynamics to the disadvantage of women. Despite the increase in dual-income or female-breadwinner households, women still bear a disproportionate share of household duties, particularly in preparing meals. This leads to the increased consumption of highly-processed convenience foods, as women have less time but are still expected to be responsible for food provision. Food advertisements often target women about providing cooked meals for their children or by offering aspirational products that are "improved" over traditional diets.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Procurement policies could be used to encourage farmers to produce fruits and vegetables, guaranteeing profits and making more nutritious diets affordable for low-income groups. For instance, some countries procure food grains at market rates directly from farmers that they then sell to low-income groups at affordable rates, balancing the interests of the farmer and a vulnerable group. Another measure adopted by States has been to encourage localized farming and then procure the produce for schools. This not only enhances local economic development, but also ensures the reduction of unhealthy foods among schoolchildren.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Education and public awareness programmes can help the population make healthier food choices. Consumer-friendly labelling of food products is a common method to raise awareness and encourage consumers to make informed decisions about their diets. For instance, some States have issued guidance for supermarkets and food and beverage companies to use images such as front-of-pack, "traffic light" food labelling. This creates awareness about healthier food options, impacting positively consumer choice. Traffic light food labelling makes use of red, amber and green colours to indicate high, medium and low content, respectively, of a particular nutrient. As children are particularly vulnerable to increased risk of NCDs in adulthood due to the consumption of unhealthy foods, States should involve schools in teaching children about the benefits of healthy foods in a child-friendly manner.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- As a step to progressively realizing the right to health, States should formulate and regularly update food and nutrition guidelines for a healthy diet for different groups, particularly for vulnerable groups, like children, women and low-income groups. Guidelines should be formulated based on scientific evidence and with the participation of the community, civil society organizations and other stakeholders. To be effective, dissemination of these guidelines and nutritional information to people in a comprehensible manner is equally important. One regulatory approach that States should consider is the adoption of nutrient profiling models, in which foods are ranked according to their nutritional composition.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Children are also frequently exposed to junk foods in both public and private settings. Food served or sold in institutional settings such as schools may be disproportionately weighted towards junk foods or other foods of limited nutritional value, particularly in school lunch programmes, where funds for healthier foods may be limited. Other places serving children and youth, such as sports centres, may also lack healthy food options. In the private sector, meals designed for children are often high in fat, sugar and salt, and fail to meet children's nutritional needs, especially at fast food establishments. This may be the case even for foods marketed as "healthy" children's meals. Where genuinely nutritious options are available, the default option may still be the unhealthy one.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- In addition to marketing of unhealthy food targeted at children, including through toy giveaways, competitions, social media, cartoon characters, games, television, movies, interactive websites and in youth-oriented settings such as schools and recreation centres, parents are also often targeted by such pervasive marketing. This is done to encourage parents to buy unhealthy foods for their children. In many cases, the food industry's marketing to children and their parents may be disproportionately aimed at particular racial, ethnic or socioeconomic groups, exacerbating health inequities faced by those groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Owing to the inherent problems associated with self-regulation and public-private partnerships, there is a need for States to adopt laws that prevent companies from using insidious marketing strategies. The responsibility to protect the enjoyment of the right to health warrants State intervention in situations when third parties, such as food companies, use their position to influence dietary habits by directly or indirectly encouraging unhealthy diets, which negatively affect people's health. Therefore, States have a positive duty to regulate unhealthy food advertising and the promotion strategies of food companies. Under the right to health, States are especially required to protect vulnerable groups such as children from violations of their right to health. To reduce opportunities for targeted advertisements, some States have instituted laws to ban companies from advertising their products to children below a certain age and to limit the availability of unhealthy foods in schools.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unhealthy foods, non-communicable diseases and the right to health 2014, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- To address the issue of aggressive marketing, some States have supported self-regulation and have allowed food companies to voluntarily regulate their practices related to marketing and nutritional content of unhealthy foods to children. Companies often voluntarily adopt self-formulated guidelines and standards to restrict Government regulation and respond public demands. They have also taken joint initiatives and formulated guidelines for member companies to restrict advertising and promoting practices with respect to children. However, self-regulation by companies has not had any significant effect on altering food marketing strategies. Due to a variety of reasons, such as the non-binding nature of such self-regulation, lack of benchmarks and transparency, inconsistent definition of children and different nutrition criteria, companies may be able to circumvent guidelines, blunting the intended effect of marketing guidelines they instituted.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
19 shown of 19 entities