{
  "abstract": "Background/Objectives: The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is increasing rapidly across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), threatening public health and economic sustainability. Drivers include increased availability and consumption of ultra-processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages, physical inactivity, and pervasive marketing of unhealthy foods. This study used a secondary, framework-guided narrative synthesis of two regional reports to map child-relevant policy coverage, examine reported implementation barriers, and identify priorities for action across the six GCC countries. Methods: We used two comprehensive regional reports by the Gulf Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Gulf CDC), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and World Health Organization. The analysis synthesizes 103 policy-related documents and 32 key-informant interviews across six Gulf countries. Results: Our findings reveal a policy environment with significant gaps despite growing political commitment and a wide range of national strategies: three countries have adopted front-of-pack nutrition labeling, on a voluntary basis; marketing restrictions remain partially implemented, particularly on digital platforms. Stakeholders highlighted fragmented governance and limited accountability. This directly affects service delivery. While all countries have school-based interventions and infant and young child feeding strategies, their impact is weakened by inconsistent funding and implementation. Conclusions: Using UNICEF’s Transforming Children’s Food Systems approach, we propose a GCC-wide roadmap in three action areas: (1) improving children’s foods; (2) improving children’s food environments; and (3) improving children’s food practices. This roadmap offers a strategic path for the GCC to accelerate action towards protecting the health and well-being of all children in the Gulf and offering valuable lessons for global policy and practice.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Public Health Programs and Policies, Gulf Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Riyadh 12512, Saudi Arabia",
    "Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 12371, Saudi Arabia",
    "Center of Excellence, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Amman 11821, Jordan",
    "Gulf Area Office, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Riyadh 94623, Saudi Arabia",
    "Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, World Health Organization (WHO), Khartoum 2234, Sudan"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Nada Alnaji",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6104-1613"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ghadeer S. Aljuraiban",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4866-5461"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kate Heneghan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Najla Alorayyidh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Aashima Garg"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jumana Haj-Ahmad"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sarah Zahr"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Qureshi Abdul Baseer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Rasha Alfawaz",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1859-2177"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a0j35z11tqnex.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/nu18203435",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13708571",
  "id": "a0j35z11tqnex",
  "issns": [
    "2072-6643"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3435",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2739|Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223012415",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13708571?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13708571",
  "pmid": "42943006",
  "published": "2026-10-20",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a0j35z11tqnex.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:56Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/nu18203435",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3435"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:12Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42943006",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42943006"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Transforming Food Systems for the Prevention of Childhood Overweight and Obesity in the Gulf Region",
  "title_text": "Transforming Food Systems for the Prevention of Childhood Overweight and Obesity in the Gulf Region",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:22:12Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a0j35z11tqnex",
  "venue": "Nutrients",
  "versions": []
}